Ultimate Danny Phantom
by Grumbles
Summary: Danny Phantom, back with a whole new look. Story covers every episode and every villain with new twists and turns. Nobody ever said the life of a super hero was easy. -now under revision-
1. Beginnings

_The year is 2008. For the last fifteen years, humans have been terrorized by creatures from another dimension. Nobody knows how these monsters travel from their realm to ours. Conventional weapons do not harm them. They are savage, brutal, mindless beasts. Rewind to 1988. The first attempt to access this dimension from the human side is met with failure, but a brief glimpse into this alien realm proves its existence. It is dubbed the Ghost Zone. Back in the present, the discoverers of this Ghost Zone have created a new breed of ghost hunters. Using high-tech weaponry, the advance of these ectoplasmic abominations has halted and the human race is finally beating back the ghostly invasion. Some cities are more prone to attacks than others, and these hotspots still house many bloodthirsty ghosts. _

_One such hotspot is where Jack and Madeline Fenton, the discoverers of the Ghost Zone and the first professional ghost hunters, have settled. Despite the fact that the location is ripe with extra-dimensional activity, and it also happens to make a great place to raise a family. Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton, the eldest child, is off attending college. A genius in her own right, Jazz has made ground-breaking discoveries in her research of the ghostly malefactors. Daniel, the youngest child, is still in high school. Whether he will carry on his family's ghost-involved practices remains to be seen._

_

* * *

_

"Excellent work, Mr. Fenton. Keep this up for the rest of your high school career and you can expect a very bright future."

Danny Fenton smiled as his eight-page essay on the spectral world was handed back to him with a bright red **A **scribbled at the top. The paper had been the only assignment given to the freshmen class at Casper High during their first quarter of American Literature. It had been assigned at the beginning of the school year; on the first day to be accurate, much to the dismay of most of the class. Fortunately, Danny Fenton wasn't preoccupied with some extracurricular activity or a job. His other teachers had been lenient with homework and tests as well, which gave him even more time to write his paper. He might not have gotten an **A+** like his friend Tucker Foley, but a solid grade was enough to make him and his parents happy.

Mr. Lancer, a man whose heart seemed to be as big as his biceps, was quickly becoming his favorite teacher, if only a single semester into the freshmen year.

"Well," said Tucker Foley, Danny's techno-geek brainiac friend, "I guess I should be happy with this."

"Dude, an **A+** is the highest grade you can get," Danny whispered. "What's not to be happy about?"

"I just think I could have done better," Tucker replied with a smirk.

Tucker was the kind of guy who didn't rub his academic superiority in other people's faces. If anything, Tucker had helped in securing Danny's grade by providing him with several fascinating sources to use for his paper.

"I just wonder how Sam did. She kept complaining about how hard it was to find information about that Showenhower guy and his books about Gothic artifacts."

Tucker slid his paper into his notebook, not giving it another look. "I'm worried that this Goth thing is becoming an obsession. I mean changing her clothes, hair, and outlook on life is fine. But now it's starting to interfere with other facets of her daily routine. Writing an essay about some obscure Gothic antique collector? It would have been much easier to use one of the ideas I thought of. At least I already had access to sources for them."

"Still, Sam's our friend. Whether she's feminist, individualist, gothicist or extremist, we're supposed to stick by her side."

Tucker mulled that over in his mind. "You're absolutely right. However, as your friend I am obliged to inform you that _gothicist_ is not a word."

"Mr. Foley, Mr. Fenton? Is there a problem?" Lancer asked.

Although Danny's favorite teacher, Lancer could be very strict. He chose to be a disciplinarian when Danny and Tucker were discussing something _important_.

"Uh, no, Mr. Lancer," Danny responded.

"Good. Then perhaps you'd like to pay attention to this introduction to poetry. It might not be an eight page assignment, but I can guarantee it won't be any easier."

Danny and Tucker slid back in their seats, as if to apologize and attempt to avoid further scolding. Lancer accepted this resignation of guilt returned to his lecture.

* * *

"I don't want to say I told you so . . ." Tucker said.

"Then don't say it, _Tucker_," Sam replied bitterly.

Sam had met up with Danny and Tucker after their English Literature class had let out. The girl had been in a particularly bad mood, the reason being a large **C+** sprawled in red ink at the top of her essay.

"Sam, look, just don't worry about it," Danny tried comforting. His efforts were in vain.

"How am I supposed to not worry about it?" Sam growled. "My mother is an English professor at Amity Park University and happens to think that every letter after B is _F_."

Danny cringed. Her parents would most likely ground her from doing any sort of fun stuff, which meant that her stereo system would be gone, her basement/movie theatre would be chained offand locked and she wouldn't be allowed to do anything with her friends.

"Look, before you have to face the firing squad, why don't we go to the Nasty Burger?" Tucker suggested."I'll treat."

"I think I'd just throw up before I got home."

Sam was not known as a drama queen. Her posture and facial expression revealed she was genuinely upset. "Well," Danny started, "I don't know if you guys really care or not, but my parents said they were going to have the Ghost Portal ready for launch after school today-"

"Not care?" Tucker asked incredulously. "Your parents have access to technology that is so advanced it shouldn't exist yet! And to think I wouldn't care about a trans-dimensional portal . . . the nerve of some people!"

Sam appeared to perk up at the news. She might not have been a science buff like Tucker, but Sam had always loved the unexplainable. A portal into another dimension certainly fit the bill. "You sure your parents won't mind us being there?"

"Please!" Danny grinned and rolled his eyes. "You guys are like family, of course they won't care!"

The walk from Casper High to the Fenton household was barely fiveminutes. Danny hadn't even finished his sentence before the trio arrived on his block. The thing about Danny's house was that it was not just a house, because the top of the building supported a mess of metal and LEDs twisted to form the words FENTON WORKS which Danny's father claimed one could see the sign from orbit around the planet. Several of the Fenton's earth-bound neighbors had complained about the sign, claiming it was a violation of light-pollution laws, but the Fentons were nice enough people and their work had never hurt anyone, unless you count the Dinkleburg's dog…

"Well, here we are!" Danny looked from his friends to his front door, gesturing to the building in front of them.

"Yeah, thanks for the introduction." Sam crossed her arms. "You gonna let us in or are we supposed to teleport into the basement from here?"

"Oh, I just thought, you know," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "ladies first?"

"After what happened with that crazy vacuum cleaner last week? I don't think so." Sam stroked her hair, recalling the horrifying experience with the Fenton VacOOm cleaner – cleverly named by Danny's father – which had coated her hair in a thick layer of green slime. While non-toxic, it had taken hours of scrubbing to get it all out. "Besides, it's your house."

Hopefully, Danny turned his attention to Tucker.

"Don't even think about it, dude," Tucker said curtly.

With a sigh of resignation, Danny plodded up the steps to his front door. He cautiously cracked it open and poked his head in, searching for any rampaging equipment intent on showering them in slime. Assured that no mechanical monsters awaited them in the foyer, Danny waved his friends in after him.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" Danny called through the house.

"Danny, my boy!" came the faint voice of Jack Fenton, Danny's father. "We're in the basement, son! Come on down!"

The three teenagers passed through the family room and kitchen and headed down the stairs to the lab, Danny leading the way. The massive Ghost Portal that dominated an entire side of the lab immediately demanded the attention of the three teenagers. His parents were working fervently on it, Madeline looking over papers on a clipboard while Jack welded the casing onto a grouping of wires.

"Danny! How was school?" Jack boomed. His orange jumpsuit made him stick out like a sore thumb in crowds. His immense size helped with that as well.

"It was good, Dad. I got an **A** on that paper I had to do for English."

"Great!" Jack said enthusiastically. "You hear that, Maddie? Danny got an **A**!"

"Oh, our little boy!" Madeline, or Maddie, Fenton squealed with delight. "We're both very proud of you." She wore a teal jumpsuit similar to Jack's, but was nowhere near as large.

Danny sighed and absently looked around the rest of the lab. The conversation, if could be called one, felt like a recording that he had heard time and time again. His parents hadn't even looked up from their work. He knew this project was of particular importance, but he was still their son. Didn't that make him more important?

"I hope you don't mind, I brought Sam and Tucker over. I figured this would be a once in a lifetime chance, to see the Ghost Portal activate."

Again, without even glancing up, Jack's voiced his approval. "That's great! Go ahead and take a seat; we'll be done in a moment." To their credit, his parents certainly vocalized their emotions well.

_Always the same with them_, Danny thought. _It's like this ghost stuff is the son they always wanted. I'm competing for my parents' affection with dead people and machines._

One of Jack's large fingers pointed to a locker containing hazardous material suits. Whenever dealing with ectoplasm, Jack and Maddie had one chief rule above all others:always wear hazmat suits. Danny and his friends suited up as they had done many times before. His parents had even ordered custom suits for Tucker and Sam because of the frequency of their visits to the lab.

Danny's suit was primarily white. The collar, gloves, belt and boots were all black. Of all the hazmat suits, his was arguably the most boring. At first, he was disappointed. But in light of the coloration of his friends' suits, he quickly came to enjoy the simplicity of his own.

"Tucker, if you keep laughing, I swear to God I will bury you alive."

Despite Sam's threat, Tucker could not help himself. Danny watched as his best friend's giggle fit grew in intensity. "I'm sorry, Sam, but look at you!" He leaned on the suit locker for support as his laughter grew even more. "It's pink! Solid pink!

As if on cue, Sam grabbed the nearest blunt object – a cylindrical device Jack Fenton had been working on – and hurled it at Tucker. The device hit the boy square in the shoulder. "Shut up. At least my suit doesn't look like yours, Captain Barf."

"Touché, Miss Manson." The remark had cut short Tucker's fun. He was very displeased to find that his own suit did not have the flame patterns he requested. Instead, his suit was green where Danny's was white and yellow where Danny's was black. "But at least they didn't buy my suit at _Claire's_!"

As far as uncanny abilities go, Captain Barf's superpower was making Sam very, very angry. Danny crossed his arms and gave Sam a disapproving stare as she reached for the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick.

"This is it," Jack proclaimed with a winning smile, interrupting the three teenagers from their squabble. He knelt down and picked up one end of a rather large cable. "This portal is bound to break the dimensional barrier that separates us from the Ghost Zone!"

Maddie picked up anothercord of the same thickness lying on the ground. "Our life's work finally comes to fruition."

The two held hands as they connected the two cables, allowing the Ghost Portal to get the large amounts of power it needed to run. Everyone looked into the portal. A wave of green electricity began to spiral around the portal, stopping halfway through and fizzling out of existence.

Danny, Sam**, **and Tucker exchanged confused looks.

"Did it work?"

* * *

It was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air following what appeared to be the most anticlimactic activation of a machine in the history of machines. Jack slowly lowered his gaze from the inactive portal. His face told the answer to Danny's question clearly enough.

"No," he said softly. "It didn't."

Maddie looked at her husband with sympathy. "Don't worry honey," she said optimistically. "We did have some problems computing the ectoplasmic energy feed; maybe we made a mistake in the calculations?" Jack seemed to perk up at the idea. He was never the brightest when it came to math, although he wasn't aware of it. A smile spread across his once sobered face.

"Maybe you're right. Hmm! Maybe you made a miscalculation! Come on, let's go check." Maddie scowled at the accusation, but followed Jack as he bounded up the steps three at a time.

After the adults had left, Tucker walked over to the portal, inspecting it closely despite the warnings. Of course, the portal didn't work anyway. "I know I'm no expert in this sort of thing," he said after examining the device. "But everything looks like it's configured properly."

"You said yourself that this stuff isn't supposed to exist yet," Sam commented. She had practically torn off her hazmat suit the moment Danny's parents had gone upstairs. "How would you know if something wasn't _configured properly_?"

Tucker sent Sam an angry scowl before removing his own suit. "Maybe you're right. This tech is way over my head. Even if there is a mistake somewhere, I wouldn't know where to look."

"What's this? The great Tucker Foley admitting defeat?"

"Admitting one's own shortcomings is what makes the greatest geniuses so great."

Sam rolled her eyes and blew a strand of hair out of her face. She looked at Danny to see what he was thinking, but saw his arms crossed across his chest and his brow furrowed. "You ok, Danny?" she asked.

His features returned to normal and he looked at his best friend with a grin. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just feel bad it didn't work." _Kind of. Not really._ "They've spent their entire lives working towards making the thing work, and all of it was for nothing."

"Maybe you should go in and check it out," Sam suggested. "Maybe there's something inside that's broken that you can fix."

"What?" Danny asked in surprise. "Why do _I_ have to go inside the Ghost Portal?"

"Yeah, Sam, why does _he_ have to go into the Ghost Portal?" Tucker was fiddling with the device that Sam had thrown at him earlier. "What _is_ this thing, anyway?"

"It's a Fenton Thermos," Danny explained. "When you're not using it to store soup, my dad claims it can capture any ghost without fail. I've never actually seen it in action, so I don't know if it works."

"Oh good, I was worried it might spray goo at Sam's hair."

"Shut up, Tucker. Danny, you should totally go check out the portal. What's the worst that could happen?" Sam added.

Danny looked from his friends to the Ghost Portal. "You're joking, right? The worst that could happen could be _death!_ It's a Ghost Portal and ghosts are dead!"

"Technically, it's a portal into a parallel dimension comprised mostly of ectoplasm," Tucker began to explain as he removed his hazmat suit, "your dad just calls it the Ghost Zone. There's no proof that there are ghosts-"

"Tucker, we have a lot more fun when you're not around."

"I bet you do. But in any case, Danny has a point. This thing uses more energy than Casper High uses in a month, if your dad's calculations are right. I don't know about you, Sam, but I don't want to turn Danny into a stick of beef jerky."

"Because I do, right?" Sam sighed. "Whatever, but you might be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime."

"At least I'll have the rest of my lifetime to regret it. Now, I believe Tucker offered to treat us to an after-school snack and I am not about to pass up _this_ opportunity of a lifetime."

"Not dressed like that you aren't," Sam pulled at Danny's hazmat suit and let it snap back on his chest.

Now dressed in their usual getup, the three kids exited the household and made their way to the burger joint for what was expected to be an average, normal after-school day. Of course, what is expected to happen doesn't always happen.

* * *

"So you understand what you are to do?" asked a voice.

A large creature that resembled a squid nodded the top of its head in acknowledgement. A single, large eye sat in right above its arms and glowed with a vibrant purple color in contrast to its dark blue form.

"Good. I will expect a full report upon your return."

The ecto-squid watched as the shadow disappeared in a wisp of pink smoke. The squid then focused on its secondary target. The boy with the disheveled raven hair had just entered an eating establishment where he would be relaxed and calm; the perfect time to attack.

* * *

Danny sat at his usual table with his burger, waiting for his friends. Tucker followed carrying his tray of chili cheese fries and double stacker Nasty Burger, being a self-proclaimed meat connoisseur. Sam made her way over to the table with her salad in hand. She was experimenting with a vegetarian diet and seemed to be doing well.

"So, did anyone else notice they way our chemistry teacher didn't seem to know what he was talking about again?"

"Oh yeah Tuck, that was messed up," Danny said. "Oh wait, Sam and I don't take chemistry."

"Right," Tucker muttered to himself.

"I did notice how Dash and his lackeys seem to be shoving me into lockers less. Maybe he grew out of it."

"Hey Fen-_toad_!"

"Or maybe they were just waiting to catch you where there are no teachers around," Sam offered.

Danny scowled before being pulled out of his chair by the back of his shirt.

"Dash, I hope you know that most school-related acts of violence are almost always caused by bullying." Tucker explained. "So you can either let Danny go now and apologize, or answer to the barrel of a crazy laser gun when he snaps and decides to -"

"Can it, Foley," Dash growled. "So, I got a **D-** on my essay. You know what that means, right?"

"Uh, you passed?" Danny asked.

"No, that means I'm _grounded_," Dash sneered. "And I thought to myself, what would make me feel better? Then I saw you and, well the math did itself."

"Gee, if only that could happen on all of your tests, maybe you wouldn't have to worry about looking stupid."

While Danny found himself on the receiving end of the bullying system, he was unique among his compatriots in that Danny never kept quiet. Even after getting wailed on, like how Dash's fist just rammed into his gut, he never learned the golden rule: it hurts more if they're mad. Fortunately, Danny didn't have to experience his first swirlie in a public restroom. The temperature in the room suddenly plummeted and the odor of rotting fish filled the Nasty Burger.

Before Sam could make the obligatory fart joke at Tucker, before Dash could ask what was going on, even before Danny could prepare his next snappy comeback, a giant blue tentacle exploded from the floor and smacked Danny away from Dash's iron grip. Dash was sent crashing into Danny's old seat. He groaned before passing out, and Danny was briefly able to see why. His head had smacked into the windowsill. But Danny was unable to see if his friends were still conscious because the blue tentacle had wrapped itself around his midsection and had begun to squeeze with a strength that surpassed one of Jack Fenton's famous bear hugs.

"Sam-ah-Tuck-er, get-parents! Can't-ehh-breathe!"

While the rest of the Nasty Burger patrons had fled in terror, Sam and Tucker were rooted to their seats out of shock. Danny's cry for help snapped them back to reality and they both scrambled for their cell phones.

"Tucker, what are you doing?"

"Calling Danny's house, Sam, is that alright with you?"

"Idiot, I'm trying to call his house! You're going to tie up the line!"

"So what do you want me to do then, just sit around and look pretty?"

"Call the police!"

"Oh, right…"

Danny's vision began to fade, and his head started feeling floaty. Maybe he should have ignored Tucker and ventured into the unknown. Sure it was a risk, but would it not have been worth it if his life was to be cut short so soon? Consciousness had almost left Danny as well before he heard a faint crash. All sounds around him sounded faint. The muffled shouting from his parents kept him awake. Suddenly, air rushed into his lungs right before he hit the floor. The tentacle had released him! His joy was cut short as the appendage rose further out of the ground, pulling behind it the body it belonged to.

The squid paid no more attention to Danny. Its plan had been successful. Its large eye focused in on the woman standing before it, Madeline Fenton. It had located its primary target.

* * *

As the giant, floating squid waged battle against his parents in the Nasty Burger, Danny struggled to return his breathing to normal. The tentacle had really done a number on his chest.

"Thanks guys," Danny managed to say between ragged breaths.

"No problem," Tucker replied.

"Tucker called your parents while we were running to your house," Sam explained. "They passed us before we even made it half way."

Danny tried to laugh at what had to be his dad's classic driving, but the pain in his chest turned it into a garbled chuckle/cough. His friends propped him up in a booth, doing their best to ignore the constant laser flak and inhuman wailing that shook the entire establishment. The squid shrieked as Maddie landed a blow that sliced off the tip of the squid's tentacle. Green blood sprayed everywhere, somehow missing Danny's parents, Danny, Tucker and the unconscious Dash. Sam's hair was not as lucky.

The squid, now missing the tip of its murderous tentacle and spurting green blood everywhere, shot into the air, smashing through the roof of the fast food joint. It spurted a black blob of ink down onto the building before flying away. This time, Danny's parents were subjected to the slimy, otherworldly goo. Jack and Maddie hurried over to Danny, mostly ignoring the black ink except to wipe it from their eyes.

"Are you ok, Danny?" Jack asked. "Sam and Tucker nearly scared us half to death when they told us what happened!"

"I'm fine. My chest is a little sore, but if it wasn't for you guys I think I'd be a lot thinner." His voice was regaining its strength and his lungs didn't protest to his use of them.

Maddie looked around the Nasty Burger and frowned. "I can't wait to explain this one to the owner. Or the police. Or the mayor, for that matter."

"Oh come now, sure we have to pay a little fine, and maybe we have to sit through one or . . . four or five hours of questioning, but think of what this will do for the tourism industry! More people will get to hear about how I, the great Jack Fenton, defeated another evil ghost and saved his son from certain doom!"

When Jack Fenton was in a sour mood, he had a tendency to drag those around him into a similar mood. Fortunately, Maddie knew just how to keep him in good spirits. It wasn't long before the familiar red and blue flashing lights from the police cars shone in through the windows. Danny and his friends were used to seeing the police, even in large numbers and accompanied by SWAT teams. Dash, who had just crawled out from under the table he had been lying under, was not used to such sights.

"What's going on? Why are the cops here, Fenton?"

"Long story, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway. But you might definitely want to go get your head checked out."

Dash looked as though he had found his misplaced aggression from before the attack, but the pain in his head demanded his attention. Dash felt the back of his head. His fingers came away red with blood. "Oh man..."

Danny left Dash to find his way to one of several ambulances on the scene. After seeing how many law enforcement officers were present, not to mention the terrified witnesses and employees, Danny sought out his parents to get their permission to go home. He was never required to give a statement or undergo questioning when these things happened. Tucker and Sam trailed along behind him.

"I wish I had one of those laser guns," Tucker said, attempting to strike up a conversation. "I could've wasted that squid thing myself!"

"Yeah, or us," Sam mumbled.

"Hey, I'm not that bad! My aim is improving!"

"Remember your _blue_ hat?"

Danny grinned at the incident, where Tucker's old blue beret was blasted off his head by his own lousy shot. His parents had since made sure to keep all weapons in a locker sealed behind voice and fingerprint recognition systems.

It was surprisingly difficult to find Jack Fenton's distinct, orange form, which usually stuck out like a sore thumb in crowds. The maze of police officers and vehicles did not make the task any easier. Finally they found him shaking hands with the mayor, who excitedly quoted figures regarding the expected spike in the tourism industry while Maddie spoke to the police commissioner and the manager of the Nasty Burger who was on duty during the attack about the damages to the building. Danny approached his father, who looked to be in a better mood than his mother.

"Danny Fenton! The hero of the day! You saw this ghost monster up close, didn't you?" Danny nodded at the mayor with significantly less enthusiasm. "Fantastic! Amazing! If only I had been there myself! It would have been an amazing experience!"

"I doubt that very much, Dad," Tucker said matter-of-factly.

Mayor Foley, Tucker's father, grinned. "I suppose you're right. Wait, Tucker, don't tell me you got mixed up in all this too! Son, what have I told you about ghost atta- er, _appearances_?"

"To run the other way, which is what I did. I ran to call for help for Danny."

Mayor Foley beamed at his son. "Spectacular! But I'm sure your mother is worried sick about you, so why don't you run on home? Better yet, take the limo. I'll call for it later after I'm done here."

Tucker nodded and waved goodbye to his friends as he headed for his ride. Mr. Foley turned his attention back to the Nasty Burger. "Think of it. Average, everyday citizens have out-of-this-world adventures on a daily basis! Maybe we'll see a spike in our housing industry as well! Like another gold rush, but with ghosts!"

Danny shifted his weight uncomfortably. His father had been overjoyed to find someone else as enthusiastic about the paranormal as he was, but Mayor Foley often overlooked the very real danger that these paranormal appearances presented. To him, these ghosts were vote magnets. A mayor presiding over a term that brings in massive amounts of revenue in a shaky economy is sure to get reelected. Danny had to wonder if Tucker's father was even the least bit concerned for public safety. He could practically see the cartoonish dollar signs in the mayor's eyes as he looked at the Nasty Burger.

"Well this has been a long day for all of us, Mr. Mayor, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get Danny home and away from all this…" Jack waved his arm at the burger joint and swarm of police cars to finish his sentence.

"Certainly, certainly, it's no problem and please, call me Maurice. Oh, one more thing, Jack, don't worry about footing the bill on the expenses; I'll take care of it. Lord knows we have enough to cover it and with the projected influx of funds from tourism, future ghost atta- uh, _appearances_ won't even make a dent in the city's budget!"

Jack ushered Danny and Sam away quietly just as Mayor Foley found someone else to quote projections to. "What a guy, huh? He's really getting people interested in our field of work. He sure has my vote!"

Even though it had only been roughly two hours since school ended, Danny felt exhausted. He did not share his father's enthusiasm, but decided he could worry about it later. The ride to Sam's house was quiet. Danny was worn out and couldn't think of anything to say. He knew Sam was silently fuming about the condition of her hair, but she was probably dreading the conversation with her parents more. She still hadn't had a chance to tell them about her lackluster grade on her paper, and coupled with her recent ghost escapade, Danny feared his friend would be in a heap of trouble.

Nevertheless, Sam was dropped off at her house and into the waiting embrace of Pamela, her mother and Jeremy, her father. From the few times he had been to Sam's house, Danny knew that her mother would not be angry that Sam's friends had gotten her into another slimy mess. Pamela seemed to approve of Danny, not so much Sam's budding interest in Gothic fashion. Jeremy was a different story entirely. He held Danny in very low esteem because of his parents' profession, and because he hoped that Sam would be making more girl friends. Strangely enough he encouraged his daughter's curiosity and most of Sam's Gothic wardrobe had been paid for by her father. Danny had never known two more opposite people to be married to each other.

Danny's father drove away after dropping Sam off, not wanting to get into an argument with Jeremy Manson. Sam and Danny's fathers never saw eye-to-eye, putting it lightly.

"Still holding up ok, Son?"

"Yeah, I think so. My chest is still sore, but I'm breathing a lot better now."

"Good, good. And good job on your paper! I was worried you might have lost some points for not going into detail about the Masters Theory on spectral anomalies, but I guess Mr. Lancer isn't as well versed in the topic as your mother and I."

Danny turned in his seat to face his dad. "You actually read my paper?"

"The morning you were going to bring it in, you left it on the kitchen table. I read it before you woke up. And you got an **A**! I'm so proud!"

_See? I knew it! I knew they really cared! … Sometimes I wish I had someone to talk to in here. Hello? Echo, echo, echo! _Danny sighed and thought about what he was going to do when he got home. Should he take Tucker and Sam's suggestion and try to see what was going on inside the Ghost Portal? He made the quick decision not to. _Last time I listened to Sam, I got punched in the face by Dash. I'm not going to make that mistake again... I really need to stop talking to myself._ Danny thought about what sort of strange things could exist in another dimension before his eyes flickered shut. _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Sam might have a point, what's the worst that could happen? _And with that, he fell asleep_._

_

* * *

_

"Dash, come on!" Danny said tiredly. "Give it back!"

"You gotta jump for it, Fen-toad!" the blonde teen said while laughing.

Danny made another desperate attempt to grab his book bag away from his daily tormentor, but he couldn't jump to save his life. "This is really funny, Dash. Now please just give me my book bag back."

"Or what?"

While he might not have known when to keep quiet, Danny was not particularly gifted at coming up with threats.

"That's what I thought, _wimp_." Dash tossed Danny's book bag on top of his locker; a height that would be physically impossible for him to get to. Dash paused as the bell rung out, signaling that everyone should have been out of the halls and in their classrooms. "Have fun in detention, _Danielle_!"

"Well, crap," the boy mumbled under his breath. "This is just _fantastic_!"

"Danny!" called a familiar voice.

Danny turned to see his muscular English teacher, Mr. Lancer, stride down the hallway toward him. "Mr. Lancer! Uh, How's it going?"

"Shouldn't you be in my class right now, young man?"

"I would be in your class right now, but I'm having a bit of a problem getting my book bag."

"How did that get up there?" the teacher asked as he grabbed the bag and handed it to the student.

Danny hesitated, not wanting to start his reputation as a snitch.

"Did your _esteemed colleague_ Mr. Baxter do this?" Danny grinned and nodded. "How unsurprising. Now, I do believe you have my class to attend?"

"Right," Danny muttered embarrassed. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, Daniel," Lancer said. "If Dash persistently bothers you, please don't hesitate to see me or anyone else about it. Believe it or not, we are here to help."

Danny didn't reveal to Mr. Lancer that Dash would probably go out of his way to wail more than usual on him if he knew Danny was buddy-buddy with the teachers. The two made their way to the room they both were supposed to be in.

"So, Fen-_turd_ finally decided to join us?" Dash asked loudly.

The kids who sat closest to Dash laughed at Danny until Lancer trailed into the room behind him. Any laughter ceased immediately.

"Mr. Baxter! So glad you'll be joining your other friends in detention today."

Dash muttered under his breath what Danny could only think to be death threats and promises of beatings. Danny shuddered.

"Now, if you would kindly take out your homework from last night."

Danny already had his out on his desk. He wasn't worried about anything more Lancer had to say, since he was positive all his answers were right. Tucker cast him a worried look, but Danny waved it off, trying to focus on the class he lucky to be in without a tardy. It didn't matter if he, or anyone else for that matter, had gotten to class on time; nobody was going to learn much.

* * *

Gliding through the air as if it was water, the ghost squid swiftly and invisibly made its way to Casper High School. After phasing through the roof, it began to search for its secondary target again. Its mysterious, shadowy "employer" had been pleased with the results of the previous day and desired another test. The squid wasn't sure why itcouldn't simply eat the secondary target, but it did not want to chance angering the shadowy ghost. The fleshy humans were plentiful in this dimension; it would be easy to find another one to devour once its mission was complete. Setting thoughts of food aside, the squid continued its hunt.

* * *

Mr. Lancer waited for his students to finish taking notes with patience. He was about ready to move onto the second part of his lecture when he felt the temperature in the room drop dramatically. The teacher looked around; trying to find what could have caused the temperature change when a horrible smell hit his nostrils. It was like dead, rotten fish and salt water.

"Who did that?" a student asked, prompting the subtle laughter of his fellow classmates.

Had Mr. Lancer been paying attention to Danny Fenton and Tucker Foley, he would have noticed that neither of them was laughing. They had both turned several shades paler and their eyes might as well have rolled out of their sockets. "GHOS-" before Danny could finish shouting the word; he was grabbed by a familiar tentacle appendage and thrown across the room, slamming into the chalkboard.

The squid ascended through the floor and shrieked loudly. Everyone covered their ears and screamed, trying to get out of the room. The class was in panic, screaming and shouting and fighting their way to the door. He raced to get there before everyone and kicked it open, breaking the locking mechanism and leaving an indent on the wall where the doorknob crashed into the drywall. He stumbled out of the room, followed by the stampede of students who were running for their lives. Lancer stepped back into the room to find Tucker fighting off tentacles while trying to reach an unconscious Danny.

"Tucker!" the teacher called out to the boy.

"What!" Tucker shouted back as his hat was smacked of his head.

"What's Danny's phone number?"

Tucker looked at the man in confusion before his face lit up. Apparently he wasn't very quick under pressure."555-1221!"

Lancer whipped out his cell phone and quickly dialed the number; thankful he got it right on the first try. The phone rang several times before someone picked up the on the other end.

"Hello?" askedMaddie Fenton in a cheerful tone.

"Mrs. Fenton? This is Mr. Lancer, Danny's English teacher." Mr. Lancer tried to sound as calm as possible, given the situation. He made several attempts to go back into the room to save his students, but each time he was swatted away by a tentacle.

"Oh, hello! What can I do for you?"

"A large ghost is attacking the school! AHH!" Lancer ducked out of the way as a stray tentacle smacked into the wall not two inches away from his head. "It's in the building and Danny's been injured!"

"We're on our way-" Danny's mother was cut off when a tentacle smacked into Lancer's hand, sending the phone into a locker.

"Webster's Dictionary! I still had two payments left on that thing!" he roared. He was about to charge into the room when he saw Sam running down the hall towards him.

"Mr. Lancer!" Sam called out. "What's going on?"

"Danny and Tucker are in there," Lancer pointed into his classroom. "The Fentons are on the way and I'm trying to help until they show up."

Sam looked into the room and stepped away when she saw the squid, thrashing about like the monster it was. She opened her mouth to speak, but a tentacle darted out of the room, wrapped itself around her long hair and yanked her into the room as well.

Lancer looked down the hall to his left and right, making sure nobody was going to run up to him and start yelling. He took a deep breath and leapt into the room. Or he would have, if the Fentons didn't beat him to it.

"Looks like we're having calamari tonight, Maddie!" Jack Fenton shouted as he fired his laser rifle at the cephalopod. Most of his shots went wide and caused more damage to the chalkboard than to the squid. Maddie held her hand out and Jack, with a disgruntled look on his face, handed her the weapon. She took aim and fired, doing much more damage to the squid than Jack.

Lancer, not wanting to look like a dumbfounded observant, pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket and leapt into the room. While he was sure the students would object to his carrying the thing, Lancer used it exclusively to help the cafeteria ladies open cans of food whenever they needed help. Making his way past thrashing arms and tentacles, the teacher finally reached Sam, whose eyes were watering badly.

"Get this #$%ing squid &*#%!^ off of my hair!" she cried. Lancer was taken aback by her language. She was always such a quiet and polite girl in class.

Making a mental not to give Sam detention for foul language, Lancer knelt down next to Sam and extended the blade. He knew full well that the tiny blade wouldn't do much more than anger the squid, so Lancer instead cut Sam's hair off just above the tentacle's reach. It was a surprisingly even cut, but the rampaging ghost in the classroom left little time for either human to admire the handiwork. Sam managed to get out of the class, dodging the squid's thrashing appendages as she went. Once he knew she was safely out of harm's way, Lancer maneuvered over to Tucker's location. "Are you alright, Tucker?"

"I'm fine!" Tucker shouted. It was hard to hear over the Fentons' screaming, the squid's howling and the constant discharge of laser weaponry. "This desk isn't going to hold out much longer, though!" Tucker had been fending off one of the fiendish appendages with a broken-off seat of a desk. At the same time, he had been inching closer and closer to his beret, trying to reclaim it.

Spying a splintered desk leg, Lancer thought of a plan. "Tucker, are you on the track and field team?"

"No!"

"Pity," Lancer grabbed the makeshift spear and flung it at the squid's eye like a javelin. Lancer himself was no track and field star, but the splintered end of the desk leg stabbed into the blue flesh of the ghost just below its eye. Close enough. The squid roared in pain and its tentacles thrashed wildly without direction. "Come on," Lancer grabbed Tucker's beret and slapped it on the boy's head, "let's get out of here!"

The two leapt over and ducked under the enraged squid's appendages and finally made it out of the room. Lancer, Sam, and Tucker anxiously waited for the Fentons in the hall. Jack, wielding what looked like an axe with a glowing green blade, stormed through the mess of tentacles. His axe sliced through any that got in his way. Lancer could see Danny slung unceremoniously over his father's shoulder. Maddie followed close behind, firing her laser weapons into the beast.

Once everyone was safely out of the room, Jack pulled out a spherical device from one of the pouches on his belt. It was silver with green stripes and had a pin at the top. Jack's large finger pulled the pin out and he tossed it into the room, closing the door after it.

Everyone was sent crashing into the lockers when the anti-ghost grenade exploded. The squid howled in pain as it was blasted through the ceiling and into the sky.

"HA!" Jack shouted after the dust had settled. "I knew those grenades would come in handy!"

"Well, I, for one am grateful for your timely arrival. The principal might not be as _enthusiastic_, about the damages, though." Lancer kicked a piece of drywall away from him. "How did you get here so fast?"

"We were actually trailing that very same ghost," Maddie explained. "After it attacked Danny, we thought it might try again. Looks like we were right." She rested her hand on her son's face. He was still unconscious. "If only we'd gotten here sooner…"

"Nonsense, you got here just in time! I hate to think what could have happened if you had arrived any later than you did," Lancer offered. "Although I can imagine you'll have some serious explaining to do. The government doesn't exactly condone weapons being used in its schools."

"I wouldn't worry about that, I'm sure this will become just another tourist attraction," Maddie mumbled. She suddenly noticed Tucker. "Oh, I'm sorry, Tucker, I-"

"No, it's fine. He's probably on his way here right now with more projections and whatnot." Even though the mayor was his father, Tucker held similar views to the Fentons. His father'sdesire for votes often overrode his common sense.

"You all better get to the gym or wherever they have you go during one of these attacks," Jack said soberly. "We'll go meet the police."

Nobody had any complaints. Lancer led Sam and Tucker down one hall while the Fentons went the other way. He stopped to scoop up his phone, which was indeed broken. The other students had already gathered in the gym. Lancer noticed some of them were being attended to by paramedics.

"What happened here?" Lancer asked one of the men.

"Kids say some kind of monster showed up and started trashing the place-"

"No, I meant what happened to these students?"

"The monster thing, I think it shot up through one of the classroom floors. Some of the kids were knocked around, nothing serious."

So it wasn't Jack Fenton's grenade that hurt these other students. Lancer breathed a sigh of relief. They already had enough on their plate. Sam and Tucker and the rest of the students were soon released from the building for the remainder of the day. Mr. Lancer hoped Danny was doing better. He would have hated to see anything worse happen to one of his most promising students.

* * *

"Did you see when he threw that desk leg?! That was insane!"

"I know, right? And when he was dodging those tentacles and doing all sorts of crazy kung fu moves, I think he kicked one of the arms off!"

Sam sat on one arm of the L-shaped couch in the Fenton living room while Danny and Tucker sat on the other. Once the students of Casper High had been dismissed, Sam and Tucker insisted on visiting Danny. He was conscious, but still a little woozy from the incident. Despite his condition, Sam and Tucker couldn't help but regale him with their stories about seeing Mr. Lancer in action against the ghost. He was like one of the characters from an action movie. Tucker insisted Mr. Lancer actually starred in one of those movies, although he conveniently forgot the name of the film.

"You know, Lancer could have gotten a job as hair stylist; he did this in one swipe. With a pocket knife!" Sam played with her hair, which was now shoulder length. The swipe was mostly even, but her parents would insist on having her go to a stylist to make sure it was perfect.

"I'm gonna have to make a note to never tick him off," Tucker said. "If he carries a knife with him, you know."

"I don't think Lancer's gonna _stab_ you if you're late for class, Tucker," Sam said patronizingly. "And he won't get the chance for another week while they're assessing the damage done to the school anyway. In the meantime," Sam said while her gaze settled on the kitchen. Danny and Tucker knew what she really meant though. She was thinking about the portal.

Danny sighed. "They redid every calculation at least three times," he began. "They even sent the math to college professors all over the country. Every reply they've gotten so far says that the calculations are correct."

"So what does that mean?" Sam asked.

"If the calculations are right, but the machine doesn't work, that means the other dimension – the Ghost Zone – doesn't exist, which means that their lives' work was all for nothing." Neither of Danny's friends knew what to say, so they didn't say anything. Danny had only regained consciousness several hours ago. Having to deal with that trauma on top of this newest depressing development was a lot to take. "And I really hate to see them like this," Danny continued. "So Sam, Tucker," Danny stood from his seat. Crumbs fell from his shirt onto the floor, adding to the mess. "Prepare for Operation: Turn On."

Tucker elbowed him. "Mmhmm?"

"No, not like _that_, I mean turn on like activate. Operation: Activate!" He was met with blank stares. Danny frowned. "I'm going to see if I can't turn on the portal."

Now he had their attention. The two raced down into the lab ahead of Danny, Tucker heading for the locker with the lab coats and Sam for the hazmat suit locker. In all the excitement, Tucker wound up tripping over Sam's shoe on the way down the last few stairs. Both teens cried out either in surprise or pain and fell, tumbling down the last few steps. Danny hopped over them and grabbed his suit for himself. "Stop fooling around, guys. Let's get serious."

Tucker limped over to the locker with the lab coats and threw one on. Sam handed him a datapad that was linked into the Fenton's wireless mainframe. It showed the readings for the machine. Everything looked to be in order. That meaning nothing was happening. Danny, sporting the appropriate safety gear, took a deep breath.

"Alright, here goes everything," Danny stepped into the portal . . . and started convulsing.

* * *

"Oh my GOD! DANNY!" Sam shrieked.

"DUDE!" Tucker lunged for the power cables, thinking that he could save his friend if the power was stopped.

Practical jokes were never Danny's forte. His usually wound up being unimpressive. Judging by the looks on his friends' faces, he knew he had got them this time. "Oh, you guys should've seen the looks on your faces!" Danny laughed. While he was reveling in his victory, he failed to notice Sam as she picked up something that looked like an ordinary hammer. It was an ordinary hammer. Being hit in the face by an ordinary hammer hurts extraordinarily. Danny yelped in pain as the cold metal head of the tool grazed his head. "What the heck is wrong with you? You could've killed me! And I was just knocked unconscious earlier today!"

"Oh, so if I throw a hammer at you, it's wrong, but if you pretend to die in a horrible electrical accident in some crazy extra-dimensional portal, it's fine?"

"Ok, I'm sorry, but a fricking hammer? What if the spiky part hit me in the face and killed me?"

"Don't be a baby. And you might want to go get that thing, it landed in the portal."

Danny looked into the cavernous device. Sure enough, he could see light reflecting off the hammer's metal head. "Why me? You threw it!"

"And you scared me half to death! You know what that's like, being half dead?"

Danny rolled his eyes and cautiously stepped back into the portal. He did not pretend to convulse this time. Instead, he carefully stepped over wires and support beams until he found the tool lying on the ground. "Found it. Oh no! The hammer is haunted! Beware the haunted hammer of the Fenton Manor! OOOoooh!" He tossed the hammer out of the portal, but received no reaction from his friends.

"You ever hear the story about the boy who cried wolf?" Tucker shouted into the portal.

"I heard the story of the boy who cried _ghost_. My parents kinda twisted all the normal childhood stories."

"Still, the same principles apply. You get hurt for real, we might not believe ya."

"Yeah, whatever." Danny mumbled. His eyes followed a winding collection of wires that lay on the floor like a sleeping snake. The thought brought up memories of the squid tentacle and Danny shuddered. But his eyes continued to follow the cables until they stopped. The wires led into a box located on the inside of the portal. The box had the usual yellow and black diagonally striped sticker to alert viewers of its dangerousness. Dead in the center was a shiny red button. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. This is . . . totally not surprising."

"What did you find? A manual on how not to be a complete ass?"

"Ha ha, no, Sam. I think I found the activation button. My dad must've put it on the inside of the portal and forgot about it."

"He did what?"

"I know; it's ridiculous. Let me just hit this thing and-"

"Dude, wait! Don't touch it!"

_**CLICK!**_

"…Uh, too late?"

"Get out of there now!" Tucker bellowed. "You didn't disconnect the power source before you turned the machine on!"

"I don't know, Tuck, I don't see any- wait, what the heck is- _**AHHHHHHHHHH!**_"

A dull green light illuminated the furthest recesses of the portal. It suddenly expanded, growing brighter and larger until it had filled the entire expanse of the archway. Raw ectoplasm oozed out from the sides and floor of the portal, dripping down to the floor. Danny's silhouette could be seen inside, grabbing at his head as his hair was blown wildly about by the now swirling vortex. He fell to his knees and let loose an earsplitting howl of pain as raw ectoplasm charged with thousands of volts of electricity surged over and through his body. The strange green substance fused with his hazmat suit, inverting the color. Danny's hair changed from a shade that could rival a starless night sky to a color that would make even the purest snow seem tainted. His eyes slowly turned from their oceanic deep blue to bright, piercing neon green. Danny felt as if his insides were moving about and experienced a strong sense of vertigo.

The blast from the Ghost Portal activating slowly subsided and Danny stumbled out of it. Green ectoplasm dripped off of him as though it was water. He looked at his friends and saw their worried faces before everything went black.

* * *

"Danny!"

The boy turned in the direction of the familiar voice, but couldn't see it. He couldn't see anything. The voice called his name again, but he still was in total darkness.

"Sam! Tucker! Where are you?" Danny looked around in the darkness. "Where am I?"

"You're safe, Daniel," said a new, unfamiliar voice.

Danny spun about and came face-to-facewith what looked like a man no older than his mid-twenties. Save for the dark grey hood, the gear clip that held it together and the deep blue skin, he wouldn't have worried. And there was that scar . . .

"Wh-who are you?" Danny asked nervously.

"A friend, Daniel. You're safe, and that is what matters."

"Am I dead?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll come up with an amusing explanation on your own time."

"What happened to me?"

"You'll find out. And don't worry, everything's fine. Everything's the way it's supposed to be."

The face faded from existence and Danny frantically looked around. Despite its mysteriousness and unfamiliarity, the figure had presented a sense of calm. Now it was gone, and Danny didn't know what to do.

"Danny, wake up!"

Danny's eyes snapped open. He looked into the startled faces of Sam and Tucker.

"Holy crap, dude, you scared us!"

"Again?" Danny asked tiredly with a half smile.

Sam wound up her arm as if to slug him in the shoulder, but slowly lowered it. "Again implies you actually scared me the first time." Danny saw the corner of her mouth turn up into a half-grin, but the rest of her face betrayed her concern.

"Sam, you might want to step back," Tucker warned. "I'm not sure it's entirely safe."

"What are you talking about, Tucker?" Danny asked worriedly as Sam backed away. "What's not entirely safe?"

"I think it's best if you saw for yourself," Tucker said solemnly, motioning to the mirror on the wall.

Danny shot up and nearly flew over to the mirror. He would discover later that he had, indeed, flown. Danny pressed his hands on either side of the glass and looked at the boy staring back at him. It couldn't have been his reflection. Danny knew what he looked like; suffice to say he was pleased with his features. The person staring back at him wasn't him. The white hair was not his own. The glowing green eyes were out of place, and the hazmat suit he had put on was almost the opposite of the one the person in the mirror was wearing.

It wasn't until Danny finally looked at his own hand pressed against the wall did he realize that the person in the mirror might actually be him. The gloves on his hands were white instead of black. The rest of his hazmat suit seemed to have switched colors as well. It was almost completely black. The boots, waist strap, collar and gloves were now white.

He looked in the mirror again. Could it be? Danny brought a hand to his forehead, trying to clear his mind when he saw an eerie glow settle on the white material. He pulled his hand away from his face and the glow faded. He brought it back and it appeared again. The glow was coming from his eyes. The person in the mirror was Daniel James Fenton, or some horrible, twisted, ghostly version of him.

"Guys . . . what the heck…?"

"We were gonna ask you the same thing."

Danny looked down at himself. "I . . . I'm a ghost?"

"I don't know, dude," Tucker said. Tucker's lack of jokes and Sam's lack of hostility made Danny even more worried. If his friends weren't acting like their usual selves, something really was wrong.

Danny didn't want to be a ghost. He wanted to be normal. How could his parents love him if he was a ghost? They couldn't. Danny knew that. He'd be torn apart molecule by molecule and disowned, maybe even in that order. He wanted his parents to be proud that he activated the Ghost Portal, not repulsed by the price he had paid. Tears began to form in his eyes. Danny would give anything to be human.

As if responding to his desperate emotions, a glowing silver ring with a bright green tint appeared at his waist. It split in two and each one sped away from the other, passing over Danny's body vertically. Danny looked down in horror as they appeared, but watched with fascination as they transformed him back into his human self. Danny was relieved by the transformation, and the rings dissipated above his head and at his feet once they were finished. He felt normal again. He was human again.

"Whoa! Danny, that was… _awesome!_" Sam exclaimed. "Do it again!"

"Are you serious? Did you see what just happened to me? I was a… ghost!" Danny leaned back against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. "Does that mean I'm dead? Am I some kind of zombie or… what happened to me?!"

Tucker took a seat next to his friend. "Calm down, dude. Do you feel dead?"

"What?" Danny looked at his friend in confusion. "No, how would I-"

"Well you don't look dead. You look exactly the same. Tell him, Sam."

"Hmm?" Sam had been staring at Danny, for what reason the boy couldn't tell. "Oh yeah, he looks fine. Nothing out of place. Er, wait. Where'd the hazmat suit go?"

Danny looked down at his body. Sure enough, the hazmat suit was gone. Fortunately the same couldn't be said for his regular clothes. "Oh man, oh man, this is not good."

"We can worry about that later," Tucker stated. "Listen, you're going to be fine. You know what that was? It was a fluke, a freak occurrence. You got zapped by supercharged energy from another dimension, and when you stepped out of the portal, it dissipated. That's why you changed back to normal, the energy dispersed or something."

"And," Sam added, "since you were wearing the hazmat suit on the outside, it got charged up too. Once the energy dislocated-"

"Dissipated."

"Bite me. Once it dissipated, your suit just faded away."

"Come on, dude," Tucker lightly punched Danny's knee. "Tell me that doesn't make perfect sense. Go ahead, lie."

Truth be told, it did make perfect sense. "I just hope you guys are right. I never want to go through that again."

"Well now that Casper the Fumbling Doofus is back to normal, check out the portal!" Tucker pointed to the machine. Instead of an empty space in the wall, there was now a swirling mass of green ectoplasm. Beyond the veil, Danny could just make out movement and shapes. "You did it, dude! You actually busted open a door into another dimension!"

"I did? I did! Me, Danny Fenton! ... Oh man, I'm becoming my dad."

"Speaking of which, you better go call them and let them know what's up."

The Fentons were out grocery shopping. Jack only went along to read the comics. Danny rushed upstairs to make the call, leaving Sam and Tucker alone in the basement.

"You think we should tell his parents?" Sam asked. "I know he's not going to do it."

"Are you kidding? You know what they do to the things they capture! They might hurt Danny, or worse. No, we don't tell _anyone_ under _any_ circumstances. If Danny wants to tell his parents what happened then that's his decision to make."

"Alright." Sam leaned against the table and looked down at the hammer she had thrown at Danny. It was lying on the floor, forgotten in all the commotion. "I can't help but shake this feeling that we just got in way over our heads in something… big."

Tucker's eyes were wider than they'd ever been. Sam followed his gaze to the portal. Just on the other side, a massive creature was slowly floating past the doorway. Its shadow plunged the lab into darkness. "I think you're right," Tucker whispered.

* * *

**ONE WEEK LATER…**

Danny looked to his left and then to his right before pressing his hand up against his locker. He focused on reaching the other side and, sure enough, his hand passed right through the locker door. He felt around and managed to grab the book he needed and recalled his handalong with his English book.

The night after the accident, Danny had fallen through his bed, his bedroom floor, the first story of his house, and wound up in the lab. There was no denying it then. Tucker and Sam's assumptions about his accident in the portal were wrong. He was able to turn intangible and pass through solid objects. Danny was quite sure he wasn't able to do that before the accident. From what he could figure, he had some kind of ghostly superpower. It was exciting, but it was also terrifying. They boy decided that night that he would master this new power of intangibility if only to prevent him from losing control and revealing his inhuman powers in public.

His tests had varying levels of success. For example, his attempt to grab his book through his locker was successful, but his hand was still in its luminescent intangible state. Danny stifled a nervous cry and willed his hand to become tangible, which it did. The boy sighed and made his way to Mr. Lancer's class, the last one of the day.

He managed to get into the room just before the bell rang. Mr. Lancer gave him a nod of acknowledgement before standing from his chair. "Everyone, please take out your books and turn to page one hundred and sixty three," he instructed.

Danny paid attention to the lecture, writing down pivotal parts in the lesson and mentally taking note of the lesser aspects. Danny felt a chill run up his spine and nearly sneezed as a stream of green mist emerged from his nostrils. Another power? The thought did not make Danny any calmer. He covered his nose and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, the stream of green mist escaped his nostrils every twenty seconds. He wouldn't be able to keep it under cover for much longer.

Danny waited until the next stream of green mist exited his nose and hurried for the front of the class. He grabbed several Kleenexes and held them over his face.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"Uh, I have a nosebleed," Danny lied. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Certainly."

Danny rushed out of the classroom just as another stream of the green mist escaped his nose. "Alright," he said to himself after he reached the bathroom. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, the temperature in the restroom dropped. The all too familiar stench of rotting fish and seawater assaulted his nose, which spewed more of the green mist.

"_Crap_," Danny muttered as the ecto-squid rose up through the floor.

It was still the same dark blue color with the glowing eye. It still was missing the tip off of one of its tentacles. It was still only seven feet tall from its beak to the tip of its head. It still had thirteen feet of deadly accurate and powerful tentacles and arms. Danny was still frightened, even in this third encounter.

The squid blinked at Danny, not moving a single noodly appendage. Danny didn't dare move any of his appendages, which coincidentally felt like noodles as well. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Danny was no expert on squids or ghosts or any combination thereof, but the way the creature looked at him, it was as though the squid was sizing him up. Could it sense Danny's powers? Before Danny could carry that line of thought any further the squid fell through the floor and disappeared into the ground.

"What was that all about?" Danny whispered.

"Why don't you tell me?" asked someone from his class, standing in the doorway and pinching his nose shut. "What is your mother _feeding_ you?" he asked, laughing before walking away.

Danny turned his attention to the floor where the squid had vanished. It hadn't attacked him, so he was glad for that. The urge to sneeze up green mist was gone, so that made him happy as well. He didn't have to use his powers, so his mood improved again. Maybe the squid was trying to tell Danny goodbye. He knew it was unlikely, but the thought amused him. The boy made his way back to the English room and resumed taking notes. Much to his enjoyment, the rest of the day passed by without incident. The next day, however, would not be nearly as boring.

Danny entered the building the day following his encounter with the squid in the bathroom to find Tucker in a particularly bad mood. Before Danny could even ask what was wrong, Tucker pointed to a sign on the bulletin board.

**Student Notice: For the remainder of the month, Casper High School will be serving a vegetarian menu designed to maximize student health. **

The rest of the notice talked about the advantages of eating a vegetarian diet as opposed to meat. Someone had scribbled beneath the note.

**PLEASE REMAIN CALM, THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY.**

The message written beneath the notice looked suspiciously like Mr. Lancer's handwriting.

"Wow, how about that. When did they decide this was a good idea?"

"Oh, about the same time Sam brought it up to the school board."

"Brought what up, Tuck?" Sam had just rounded the corner and joined her friends outside their homeroom. "Oh, the new menu! Nice, huh? I can't believe they took my suggestion!"

"Of course they took your suggestion; your parents give this school more money than every other donor combined. Why else would they listen to such a half-baked idea?"

"Oh stop, Tucker" Sam rolled her eyes. "They're just trying something new."

"Sam, if I wanted to eat grass, I would have been born a cow. Do I look like a cow to you?"

"Ok, first of all, it isn't grass; it's an ultra-recyclo vegetarian blend of various plants and other vegetarian options. Secondly, if you don't like it, then pack your lunch! Bring meat to school; nobody's stopping you from doing that!"

Tucker was about to retort, but Sam actually made sense. "Alright, maybe I will! And you won't get any of it!"

"Yeah, as if!"

The bell rang, and the dueling duo dropped their disagreement for the moment and hurried off to their homeroom. Danny shook his head and followed Tucker. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Jack Fenton stood from his foldout chair that was placed directly in front of the Ghost Portal. He stretched his back and yawned, tired from a long day of fishing for ghosts. He headed up the stairs with the intention of beating his wife . . . in a game of checkers.

Had Jack Fenton remained in the Ghost Portal, he would have discovered that it, indeed, did more than just swirl about all day. A green-skinned head poked through the swirling vortex, taking in its immediate surroundings. The top of the head was covered by a hairnet and was attached to a short, stout body of a middle-aged woman. The ghost hovered over the floor, dressed in a bright pink sweater, green pants and a faded white apron. She looked like she had once worked in a hospital kitchen, not at a school. Attached to her belt were a wide variety of knives, each one dimly glowing. The ghost brought her yellow-gloved hand up to her chin and scratched the green skin.

"Somebody changed the menu . . ." The Lunch Lady said in an interested voice. "Now why would they do that?"

She floated up through the building and flew off towards the source of her frustration.

* * *

Danny entered the cafeteria during the lunch period with a distracted look on his face. His pants had turned intangible and had almost fallen down in the hallway on his way to the lunch room. The thought of lunch reminded him of the situation with his friends. He didn't know what to expect, but now that Tucker had time to focus on being angry, he was likely in the same irritable mood that he had been in earlier that morning. He finally spied his friends and breathed a sigh of relief. Tucker sat with his head in his arms while Sam happily ate her salad. Danny made his way over to the table and sat down opposite Tucker.

"Hi Danny!" Sam said cheerily.

"Hey Sam. How's Tucker doing?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Tucker groaned. He stood from the table and lazily plodded out of the cafeteria.

"Well he's in a better mood than I thought. I was worried, for a second I thought he might fly off in a homicidal rage and try to kill you."

"Why me?"

"Not that I care or anything, but this menu change is totally your fault. And now he's suffering from meat withdrawal. Why do you do these things to him?"

His response was a swift elbow to the shoulder. Sam was either unaware or did not care that she was actually quite strong. Danny rubbed the afflicted area tenderly. "So how does your ultra-recycled-last-week's-salad taste?"

"It's weird, it tastes just like the regular stuff. Not better, not worse, just the same."

"Maybe that's because it's garbage! And garbage, no matter what dumpster you eat it from, is still garbage!" Dash's shrill complaining voice was very, very irritating. It was also startling, seeing as how the large young man had somehow stormed over to his smaller classmates without any of them knowing.

"It's not garbage, it's-"

"Whatever! Since this is your girlfriend's fault, _Fentonowski_, I want you to eat it!"

"She's not my- look, I just- I don't understand, you see something wrong with the world… and I'm the only one that should be punished because of it!" Danny protested.

"Punished?" Sam looked at Danny with a raised eyebrow. "What's so bad about eating this stuff?"

"Yeah, _Fen-toe-nail_, and why didn't you get any of it when you got here? Something the matter with it?"

"Mr. Baxter, is there something the matter with you?" Dash looked over his shoulder and saw Mr. Lancer as the man headed for the door. "Have a seat before I get Principal Ishiyama in here."

Dash scowled at Danny before heading off for his own table. Danny was trying to conjure up some kind of defense against what would be Sam's barrage of questions, but something stopped him. A sneeze forced its way out of Danny's nose and sprayed Sam's lunch with a green mist.

She was ready to slug her friend again, but stopped once she realized the mist was faintly glowing. "What is that?"

"I don't know, it went off before when that squid was in the bathroom earlier, but it hasn't gone off since then."

"Maybe it's a sign that there are ghosts around?" Sam guessed.

"Maybe," Danny replied.

He looked around the large room trying to see if there was a visible source. There was no temperature drop and no rotting fish smell, so he was pretty sure that the squid wasn't in the area, but as the mist emerged from his nostrils again, he was sure that there was some other ghost involved.

"If you're right, then this _is_ a way for me to sense ghosts in the area," Danny whispered. "I think there might be one somewhere around here. Sit tight; I'm gonna go check it out. And if you see anything, get out of here as fast as you can."

* * *

The Lunch Lady phased through the wall of the Casper High kitchen. She looked around at the still-living lunch ladies that were busy passing salads out to distraught students, and then looked through boxes of food, only to find more salads and vegetarian related food items. "Where's all the meat?" she asked.

One of the lunch ladies, who assumed she was new, didn't even glance back at her as she replied, "Took meat off the menu."

The Lunch Lady froze. _No meat? How would the poor children get their protein? Meat is, without a doubt, the healthiest and tastiest food group. Why remove it?_

"When is it coming back?" the Lunch Lady asked.

"End of the month," replied the same old lady who had answered her the first time.

The Lunch Lady hovered off the ground. A month? The children would have starved to death by then! Her hairnet was blown off her head by a spectral breeze. Her white hair flowed around her in a circular motion.

"No **MEAT?**" Her voice was now deep and thundered with hatred.

Everyone in the kitchen screamed and fled as the students stood, rooted to the spot as the ghost rose higher into the air.

"**WHERE IS THE MEAT?**" she demanded.

The students failed to respond, so they were knocked to the floor by gusts of wind.

"**THERE MUST BE MEAT! MEAT IS ESSENTIAL!**"

By now the cafeteria was in chaos. Students were panicking, scrambling over one another trying to get to the doors while others were paralyzed in their seats, too stupefied to move.

It took a larger gust of wind – one that knocked down part of the kitchen wall – to get the other students moving. The ghost floated out of the kitchen. She used her powers to send titanium tray racks flying from the wall. Silverware flew in all directions, bouncing off of or sticking into students. One student hadn't dashed out of the cafeteria with the rest of the mob. The Lunch Lady, in her infinite rage, telekinetically sent an array of knives flying from her belt and straight for the girl's neck.

* * *

Danny was busy searching the halls for the ghost that was supposedly in the area when he heard what sounded like an explosion. He sprinted back to the cafeteria just in time to see the Lunch Lady's glowing knives dart through the air as if they were alive. Their target was Sam, the only person left in the cafeteria. Go figure.

"NO!" Danny cried out. He shot forward, thinking he could push Sam out of the way. His intense emotional feelings might have caused it. His adrenaline might have caused it. Whatever the reason, Danny Fenton felt the familiar silver, green-tinted rings form around his waist and travel up and down his body. The black and white jumpsuit replaced his wrinkled T-shirt and baggy blue jeans. Black hair and blue eyes were transformed to white and glowing green respectively. Danny's legs became a ghostly tail as he flew through the air.

Thanks to his timely transformation, Danny Fenton got in front of Sam before the knives did. Each one stabbed into Danny's stomach. Pain rippled through his midsection, causing Danny to fall to the ground. A bright green liquid seeped from the wounds. He pulled each individual knife from his abdomen and threw them to the floor, causing them to shatter.

"Sam, are you ok?" he asked.

The girl shook her head, like she was jostled out of a trance. "Danny? Is that you? What's-"

"No time, get out of here! I'll deal with this thing!"

"**I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT, BOY"**

Danny spun around in time to see the Lunch Lady's fist jab forward. The impact with his jaw sent him flying into the wall on the other side of the room just above the doors where the other students had fled through. Danny dropped from the indent he made in the wall and fell to the floor. He grimaced and struggled to get to his feet. Sam ran past him, having taken his advice.

Whatever this thing was, it was strong. Danny didn't have any experience fighting. Sure, he might have been able to taunt the ghost, but that wouldn't help him. This thing clearly wasn't Dash. The Lunch Lady swooped in for another attack, but Danny raised his hands in defeat. "Don't hurt me! I wasn't trying to hurt you! I was trying to save my friend!"

"**YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN IN MY WAY."**

"Fine, be a bully then! You already stabbed me in . . . the stomach?" Danny had forgotten all about the knife wounds in his abdomen. They were gone and not even scars remained.

"Bully? I'm not a bully!" The Lunch Lady's voice had lost its intimidating echo and overall ferocity. She looked like a simple, little old woman with no remarkable features. Of course, there was the whole green skin and levitation thing, which certainly wasn't normal."I just want to bring meat back to the menu!"

"Well I don't know where any meat is. You shouldn't try to kill kids because someone changed the menu."

"They didn't take meat off the menu?"

"No, well, not all of them. Sam did."

"The girl who just escaped through the door?"

"Yeah? Wait," Danny realized his mistake too late. Wind started blowing through the cafeteria again. Kitchen appliances began to float and crash into walls. "Oh man."

"**THEN THE GIRL SHALL DIE FOR HER TRANSGRESSION!**"

"Geeze, lady, it's only one cafeteria, there are like, millions of other ones out there, why don't you go to one of them if you want meat so bad?"

"**AND I SHALL KILL YOU AS WELL, VEGAN COLLABORATOR!**"

Danny looked up where all the appliances were gathering. This really was shaping up to be a really bad day.

* * *

"A ghost child?" asked the mysterious shadowed ghost. "It saved that Manson girl, you say? Interesting."

The squiduttered a series of incomprehensible noises and squishing noises. The shadowy ghost understood whatever the squid had just said. "That is an interesting observation. This ghost obviously cares about the Fenton child's friends enough to put his afterlife on the line for them."

The squid made more noises, followed by an eerily long silence.

"That ghost might be a useful tool I can use to protect the Fenton child. If he is injured or killed it would have dire consequences on his family. Since that means his _entire_ family, his death could interfere with my plans."

The squid remained quiet, following the shadowy silhouette with its large purple eye.

"That irritable Lunch Lady might injure him. You must assist the child. Go now, time is of the essence!"

The shadow disappeared in a wisp of smoke as the squid took off, headed straight for the cafeteria of Casper High. It was anxious to attack the Lunch Lady. It still hadn't gotten over her calamari craze several years ago and was eager for some payback.

* * *

Danny was frantically searching for an escape when he sneezed. The green mist was sucked into the vortex of swirling appliances and quickly dissipated. He would have thought it was the Lunch Lady if it weren't for the temperature dropping lower than it was. The thought of a second ghost enemy horrified Danny. His fears were realized as the stench of rotten fish and seawaterassaulted his nose.

He whirled about and came face-to-eye with the squid. He heard a guttural screech emerge from the squid's beak as its arms shot out right into the _Vortex of Doom_ as Danny referred to it in his mind. Arms and tentacles began batting away tables, trays and other appliances faster than what Danny though was physically possible. Within seconds, the vortex was reduced to a weak, indoor tornado.

"**WHO DARES**-"

The Lunch Lady stopped as she saw the ecto-squid floating next to the ghost child.

"So, you've returned for revenge? Very well. The menu today is **NOT MEAT! WITH A SIDE OF DOOM!**"

Danny dashed to his right as several knives sailed through the air and stabbed into the floor where he had been standing. He noticed that he was faster than before. More pointy-ended silverware flew at Danny, who dodged every successive utensil easily. _This is awesome! And to think I'm always picked last in dodgeball!_ While he reveled in his newfound speed Danny failed to notice the Lunch Lady, who had gotten close enough to land a punch to the back of the boy's head. He saw stars the moment her fist connected with the back of his skull and was sent sprawling on the ground.

Danny rolled over on his back and prepared to counter, but saw that would not be necessary. The squid darted into the fray and squirted ink at the Lunch Lady, who wasn't fast enough to dodge it. She twitched in fury and humiliation as the thick black liquid dripped off of her. While she tried to clear the gunk from her eyes, the squid grabbed the Lunch Lady with two of its tentacles and slammed her through the floor. Danny marveled at the squids combat abilities, but was careful not to forget that his new ally had tried to kill him on two previous occasions.

Danny looked up at the squid. "Uh, thanks?" The squid made an exasperated huffing noise and flew down through the floor. "Hey, wait for me!"

Danny jumped into the air and found that he was floating. Normally, he would have been overjoyed but he was more focused on getting through the floor. He rushed at it- and smacked into the floor face first. "OW! That HURT!"

Danny rubbed his nose and concentrated harder, but to no avail. "Crud. Guess I'll use the hole then."

Before he could take one step, a tentacle sprung up from the ground and wrapped around his waist. Danny yelped in surprise as it made him intangible and yanked him through the floor and into the basement. Danny didn't even notice the boxes upon boxes of meat that were stored in this room. He also didn't notice the freezing temperature of this underground meat locker.

"You could've warned me you were going to do that," Danny complained, rubbing the back of his neck.

The squid huffed.

"Right. You can't talk. Ok then, I'm a ghost kid in a meat locker with a giant ghost squid looking for a crazy ghost lady who loves meat and can make tables move with her mind. Outrageous."

**"NO, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS****!****"**

Danny spun around, expecting to see the Lunch Lady floating there with a table or a knife ready to send at him. He wasn't expecting a large, reddish brown ogre.

"What the- what did you do?"

"I control meat, you fool! Why else would I be so hell-bent on finding it?"

"I don't know! I'm fourteen for crying out loud!"

The squid made an annoyed noise and sped towards the Lunch Lady. Danny decided to save flying for later and sprinted forward. His ally was already hacking at the meat ogre, but the Lunch Lady was adding more meat to her form faster than the squid could hack it away. Danny ran in close and punched the ogre in the stomach. He had no way to tell if he had enhanced strength to go along with his other ghostly abilities. When his punch sent the ogre stumbling back into a wall, he decided to add super strength to his impressive list of powers.

However, while his punch was much stronger than the average teenager, The Lunch Lady had durability to match. She regained her balance and grabbed one of the crates that lined the walls around her and threw it at Danny, who tried to catch it. Unfortunately, he overestimated his strength and the box took him down.

During this brief scuffle, the squid had turned invisible and disappeared from the fight. Just as the Lunch Lady was about to grab another crate to throw, the squid latched onto her back and began sending electrically charged ectoplasm through the suction cups on its arms and tentacles. The meat ogre flew up through the roof, bringing the squid with her. Danny, after several attempts, managed to follow the two outside. Danny saw the squid sail through the air and crash into the side of the school. The boy looked back at the ogre, who had its arm stretched out over the ground.

"**YOU WILL ALL TASTE OBLIVION!**"

"The only thing I taste is boredom," Danny taunted. "Seriously, is this the best you can do?"

The ogre smiled as meat began to shoot up from the ground and swirl around the Lunch Lady's meat ogre form. When the vortex subsided, the ogre was at least two stories tall. Danny could only watch as a massive fist slammed into his body and sent him flying.

* * *

The Fenton Family Assault Vehicle rounded a final corner, tilting the vehicle up on one side. The other wheels had barely made contact with the ground before Jack burst out of the driver's sidedoor.

"Let's MOVE!" The burly man shouted as he grabbed a bazooka, a pair of rifles**,** and a strange cylindrical device.

"Jack?"

The burlesque man pouted and handed over the bazooka and rifles. Maddie locked the RV and the two hurried towards the sounds of the ghost fight. Sam and Tucker sat forgotten in the back of the vehicle.

Sam tried to remember how she and Tucker had wound up in this crazy situation. They had been hurrying away from the school with the rest of the students when they ran into the Fentons, or rather, the Fentons almost ran over them. They were still trailing the ghost squid and when Sam and Tucker did not know where Danny was, Jack and Maddie thought it must have been after their son again. The two teenagers were dragged into the RV and found themselves driving back into the deathtrap that was their school.

"We've known these people for years and their driving still scares the crap out of me," Sam said as she struggled to get his heart rate under control.

"Yeah," said Tucker between deep breaths. "We should probably go see how Danny's holding up."

"Right, let's go."

Neither of the teenagers moved from their seats.

"Uh, Sam?"

"What?"

"We're not moving, are we?"

Sam looked at Tucker, at his seat and then at her own seat. "I guess not. Ok, _now_ we're going to help Danny."

Again, neither of the teens moved.

"We're still not mov-"

"I know we're still not moving!" Sam interrupted. "Ok, for real this time!"

Sam slowly stood from his seat, shaking mildly, and moved over to the door. She unlocked the RV from the inside and opened it slowly beforefinally stepping down from the vehicle. Sam turned back to the RV. Tucker was watching her sadly.

"Sam?"

"Yes Tucker?"

". . . I still can't move."

* * *

"You're so scrawny! You need more meat on your bones!"

Danny separated his top half from his bottom half. A ghostly stream connected his torso to his waist as ghost-controlled meat sailed through it.

"I'm fine, thanks!" Danny called. "You could afford to lose a few pounds, though."

He flew down to the ground and, testing out the limits of his physical strength, attempted to pick up a car. It didn't work. "Alright, fine, Plan B, or whatever plan I'm on now." Danny flew over next to the squid andwas about to suggest a new strategy whena green laser blast soared up between them.

"That's just a warning shot, spooks!" Jack Fenton called out, not wanting to reveal that he had actually _tried_ to hit one of them. Below them, Maddie snatched the laser pistol away from her husband. She then took careful aim with her rocket launcher. _She_ wouldn't miss. Danny turned invisible and flew down into the earth. The squid flew down into the cover of the trees.

Danny came up behind his father and saw what he was looking for:the Fenton Thermos. He snatched it off his father's belt and flew up into the air.

"Sorry," he called while regaining visibility. "I'll give it back when I'm done!"

"You're done _now_!" Jack called. "And we'll take that back with you _inside_ it!"

Danny shuddered at the thought. He flew towards the meat ogre, but found to his horror that it had disappeared. Danny looked around frantically, trying to find a clue as to where it went and cursing himself for losing track of a five-story-tallgiant ghost made of meat. Suddenly green mist shot out from his nostrils. He thought it might be his ghost sense telling him the squid was nearby, but that didn't explain the large shadow that darkened the sky. Danny turned around and saw the large ogre he had been looking for. It was smiling at him evilly.

"Let me guess, 'prepare to face my doom'?" he said sarcastically.

The ogre lifted an arm and Danny barely managed to fly out of the way of theblast of meat that shot out from the appendage.

"I think I've had enough meat for a day, thank you very much! Now it's time to wash it down. Good thing I brought my thermos!"

Danny uncapped the device and aimed it at the ogre's head. Nothing happened.

"**FOOLISH BOY! YOUR EFFORTS ARE WASTED!** **AND YOUR SOUP PUN WAS POORLY DELIVERED!"**

The ogre smacked Danny to the ground. A decent-sized crater appeared in the soft earth. Danny slowly opened his eyes in time to see a giant foot descend upon him.

Thankfully, the squid hadn't fled. It shot up through the ground where it had been waiting. The squid flattened its arms into a blade and easily sliced through the leg. The two tentacles stabbed into the hunk of meat and towed it away from the boy's prone figure.

He lifted off of the ground and ascended into the air. Why didn't the stupid thermos work? It was supposed to trap ghosts, plain and simple. At least that's what his dad said it was supposed to do. Danny landed on the roof of the school while the ogre was hopping up and down on one foot, roaring in rage.

Would the thermos work in human form? After some difficulty, he managed to transform into his human form and aimed the thermos again. Nothing happened. Again, struggling to focus on his elusive new energies, he finally transformed back into his ghostly form and flew away from the roof. So, ghost or human, it didn't work. What was wrong?

Nothing seemed to be going right today. First the menu change, which Danny had kept quiet about to prevent getting Sam angry at him, then the ghost attack, and now the only thing that might stop the monster turned out to be just another defunct machine. Angrily, Danny flew up to the ghost and kicked it in the head. The cranium of meat splattered in all directions, sending the giant stumbling back a few paces. Its head regenerated quickly, adding to the boy's anger, and it took several steps forward with its old and reformed leg.

Danny could feel anxiety swell up inside him. Wasn't there any way to stop the ghost? He looked at the thermos in disappointment. "Stupid thing! Work! You hear me? WORK! WORK!"

Danny felt something go out from his hands. It flowed into the thermos and Danny watched in frustration as the power gauge filled up on a display. The words _**BATTERIES**_ _**FULLY CHARGED**_ flashed on the small digital screen.

"Of course. My dad actually invents something that works, but forgets to power it up. When have I been in this exact situation before?"

Danny pointed the thermos at the ogre a second time and uncapped it. A bright, silver light shot out from the tip and plunged into the beast. It roared in agony as the Lunch Lady was separated from her meat body molecule by molecule. Danny could see a blurry image of the ghost being pulled into the thermos via the silver energy stream. He smiled as she got closer to the tip. Her rage was visible despite her contorted form.

"**I'LL BE BACK, CHILD AND WHEN I DO, YOU'LL BE DOOMED!**"

Danny rolled his eyes and slammed the lid back on the thermos as the Lunch Lady disappeared inside it. He clipped the device to his waist strap and began to fly off when he heard the sounds of heavy laser weapons being fired. Curious, Danny flew around to the other side of the building, where shock prevented him from doing anything more.

* * *

Danny looked down at the scene unfolding below his hovering form in disbelief; the squid, which had been quite an agreeable ally in fighting the Lunch Lady, was now attacking his parents. A long tentacle had wrapped itself around Maddie's neck and was slowly suffocating her. Jack had tried to free his wife from the murderous cephalopod, but was entrapped by several arms that suspended him in the air, rendering him useless. Danny saw that his friends were standing off to the side, well within range to be snatched up by a deadly appendage. The ghost boy watched in horror as the squid did just that. Sam and Tucker were hoisted into the air and were swung about madly.

Anger quickly replaced Danny's disbelief. His eyes glowed with such intensity that they were completely green. Finding new control in his emotional state, he floated a few feet higher into the air and rocketed down towards the ecto-squid, holding his arms above his head with the fingertips connected. Any onlooker would have completely lost sight of him if it weren't for the green glow that surrounded his body. Danny hoped his incredible speed would knock the ghost away from his parents and friends.

What he hadn't intended to was spear directly through the creature, which is exactly what happened; Danny's speed had turned him into a ghostly lance. It was an unexpected development, but Danny managed to phase into the ground to avoid crashing into it.

The squid didn't have time to react as it was lanced through. Its body was sent sprawling to the ground. It immediately released its captives, who scrambled a fair distance away before turning to face their attacker. The squid thrashed about on the ground in pain. A large hole was present just above its lone eye and bright green liquid was pouring out of it. Slowly, the creature stopped thrashing as violently. Its tentacles waved about with less viciousness before collapsing to the ground and twitching mildly. The squid's eye rolled into the back of its head and all movement ceased altogether.

Danny floated up through the ground invisibly to make sure everyone was ok. The squid was now lying in a pool of green blood. His father was helping his mother stay upright as she recovered and Tucker and Sam were searching the sky for their friend. Danny flew around behind a garbage dumpster and reverted to his human form after he knew nobody was looking. He stepped out from his changing spot and double-checked to make sure nobody had seen him. Clipping the thermos that had the Lunch Lady inside to his pants, Danny jogged over to his friends.

"Tuck! Sam! You guys ok?" he asked.

"Danny!" they both shouted.

Danny was almost knocked to the ground by their embrace. His two friends released him and stared at him with awe.

"Dude, you totally wasted that squid! It didn't even see you coming!" Tucker exclaimed.

"And you did?" Sam asked jokingly. Neither of the two had a very good vantage point from the grasp of a tentacle. "Still though, that was awesome! You totally saved our lives!"

"SHH! Not so loud!" Danny whispered for emphasis while jerking a thumb in his parents' direction. "They're not allowed to know!"

"Right," Tucker said. "Sorry, but still, you gotta admit that was pretty sweet!"

"Yeah Danny, you were a natural!"

"Ok guys, really," Danny said. He cast his parents a furtive glance. "That's great and all, but can we please talk about this somewhere else? Like maybe a place where I don't have to worry about being dissected?"

"Hey, I'm not grounded anymore from that stupid essay," Sam said, reminded of the week and a half she was left to do nothing but sulk."You guys wanna come over for movies for the night?"

"Sure!" Tucker responded. "You have _Ninja Zombie Cyborg Snake Parasites on a Plane_, right?"

"Tucker, of course I do. Any sane, filthy rich person with an uncle working in Hollywood has it," Sam said condescendingly. "Duh?"

Tucker scowled at his friend before walking off to call his parents.

"I need to make sure my folks are ok," Danny gestured to Jack and Maddie. "Give me a minute."

Danny hurried over to his parents. His mother had recovered from her bout with the squid and was now kneeling down alongside Jack next to the ghost.

"Uh, you guys ok?" Danny asked cautiously.

"We're fine, sweetie," Maddie said, although her voice was a little raspy. "Your father and I were just looking over the remains of the ghost."

Danny cocked an eyebrow. "Is it dead? I mean, it's already dead, but is it dead again?"

Jack turned to his son. "We're not sure what to call this situation. I guess you could kill a ghost. This one sure isn't after_alive_!"

Danny chuckled at the remark. "Oh yeah, uh, Sam wanted to know if I could go back to her place to watch movies and stuff. Is that ok?"

Maddie removed her red goggles and slid back her hood from her head, letting shoulder length auburn hair tumble loose. She looked at her son with a stern look.

"_Just_ you?"

"Mom! It's Sam! Samantha? Sammikins?" Danny gasped and looked over his shoulder. Sam would have punched him in the head if she heard him call her that name, the presence of his parents notwithstanding. "Besides, Tucker's going too. I'll call you before I come home."

Maddie nodded her approval as she stood up. "I'm glad you're safe. We were worried it was coming after you again." She pulled her son into a gentle hug which, while embarrassing to her son, was much more preferable than being snapped in two by Jack. "Have fun, sweetie."

* * *

Jack and Maddie watched their son walk away from the scene of the most recent ghost battle. Meat littered the schoolyard. Without the ghost controlling it, the meat had nothing to keep it together. A rather large mound of meat remained where the ogre last stood. Onlookers who were beginning to cautiously arrive on the scene were more puzzled by the sight than frightened. They hardly paid the Fentons any attention.

"Well this is fantastic," Jack mumbled. "Police will be here soon. At least this time we have a body for them. I was starting to think they might suspect us of staging these attacks."

Maddie patted her husband's shoulder and continued to examine the ghost.

"I still don't understand," Jack continued, scratching his chin. "The ghost kid and this squid thing were fighting that giant ghost together! Why didn't the ghost kid attack us too?"

"I'd rather not think about what would've happened if he decided to jump in, honey."

Jack fell silent for a moment, examining the hole in the dead squid's head while wordlessly agreeing. "I'd like to know why he took our thermos," he said at last. "I mean, the way he used it, it was like he already knew how."

"He never did give it back, did he?" Maddie joked.

Jack gave a slight chuckle before something sprung into his mind. "You're right . . . he didn't give it back," Jack said quietly. "Maddie, did you send Danny to school with a thermos today?"

Maddie would have normally pointed out how proud she was of her husband's unexpected perceptiveness. She was too stunned to form a congratulatory statement, however. Where did Danny get _his_ thermos from?

* * *

_I have been meaning to edit Ultimate Danny Phantom for a long time now. I decided the sooner I got around to it, the better. So here it is. I'll be combining all the chapters from previous segments together like this for the duration, so there will be less chapters, but much more content in them. Also, major props to Cordria, my beta reader. Without her none of this would make any sense whatsoever and I owe her big time. Since I won't be doing anymore Author's Notes like I did in the old file, I want to thank everyone who reads and reviews this story. I really do appreciate it. _

_Love,_  
_Grumbles_


	2. First Steps 1

_A/N- So, I hope you all enjoyed part one of my little retelling. The entire Ultimate series I'm doing here will be in this story only so you can expect a lot of chapters. If a UDP story it isn't in here, it isn't the real deal. Of course, I own none of this, so this isn't the real deal either, but you get my meaning. The disclaimer in chapter one still applies. Remember, no cell phones or pagers. And for the love of benevolent Vlad Masters, please review!_

Ultimate Danny Phantom

Desire

Chapter X

Danny fished his books out of his locker and stuffed them into his book bag. He closed his locker and spun the lock as to deter possible thieves from stealing anything of value. Danny looked around him. Students crowded the halls to such a degree that, in some places, they were almost shoulder to shoulder. The large amounts of people made it too risky for Danny to use his ghost powers, which he had gotten better control of in the past month. Had there been fewer prying eyes, Danny could've simply grabbed his books through his locker. The fact that he had to unlock it, open it, close it and lock it again irked him. Of course, that only added to his already angry demeanor.

December was the one month in the year that Danny truly hated, the main reason being Christmas. Most people were in ecstasy as the holiday grew closer. Decorations had adorned houses since before Thanksgiving. People had already started talking about what their plans were. There was so much cheer in Amity Park that it seemed as if it would never end.

It made Danny want to vomit. Early December was always tiresome for him psychologically. His parents began to subtly hint at the argument that seemed to have gone on for years since before he was born. Tracking equipment was set up, even more so than usual. Traps were laid about the house in strange, almost random locations. Of course, Danny could only guess why there was a motion-activated ecto-gun that would fire at the base of the chimney. He could only begin to speculate why his mother added powdered ecto-glycerin to certain batches of cookies. God only knows why the OP Center was converted into a radar/air defense center.

This was all spawned from the one creature Danny actually wished existed, if only to serve the purpose of having its face smashed in. Santa Claus. Danny knew the oaf didn't exist. He knew there was no such thing as flying reindeer, magical fat men who could fit into chimneys or sleighs that could glide silently through the air and carry enough toys for every child in the world. Yet, his father still insisted that the red-clad elf existed. The only problem being that he though the jolly old do-gooder was the ghost of St. Nicholas and had dedicated himself to capturing Santa and dissecting him. Maddie, a nonbeliever, argued her point across very vividly. Danny could recall a particularly disturbing moment from his early childhood that involved his father nearly bursting into tears when Maddie had finished her explanation with "if he ever did exist, he's dead now". Her argument had involved unimaginable speeds, sonic explosions and disintegration. That hadn't gone over too well.

Christmas wasn't the only problem he had to worry about. In some cruel twist of fate, the faculty at Casper High had decided to incorporate a school dance during the early noel season. It wasn't Christmas themed, but the fact that it was close to Christmas almost infuriated Danny.

The boy found himself in his homeroom with his head in his arms. Sam and Tucker sat on either side of him. The new semester had brought about new schedule changes. Danny and his friends all shared the same homeroom. Mr. Lancer's class was still eighth period, but now the trio was in it together.

"Hey Danny," Sam said. "How's it going?"

Danny grumbled into his arms. He was particularly tired from having to assist his father in wiring a tracking satellite into the OP Center. It had taken until one thirty in the morning.

"You ok, dude?" Tucker asked while fiddling with his PDA. "You look like you just fought a ghost."

Danny glanced up for a brief moment before he returned his head into his arms. While his powers had become more manageable, he found there were no ghosts around to attack. He was oddly disappointed, but content that he wouldn't give his parents another chance to discovering his secret.

"Guys," Danny asked groggily. "If I snap and start being a jerk and stuff, just promise we can still be friends."

Tucker and Sam rolled their eyes.

The bell rang and Danny lumbered out of the classroom, too bored to care about the feeling of self pity swelling up inside him.

-

"Ok Jack, here's what I found out," Maddie said as she spread her charts and papers all over the family room table. "The Fenton Thermos that the ghost child stole from you last month reappeared in the lab with no explanation that night."

"Right," Jack replied. "We know Danny didn't do it because he was at Sam's house, which means that the ghost kid knows where we live." Jack paused for a moment. "Does that mean the ghost kid is a stalker?"

"I don't know. But none of that explains how Danny got a hold of the thermos he was carrying that day."

"Well, here's the way I see it," Jack said. "The ghost kid saw Danny after he killed the ghost squid. He obviously knew that Danny was a Fenton since he's been stalking us, so he gave Danny the thermos with the meat ghost in it to look after. Danny must have been worried about being in contact with it, so that's why he didn't tell us!"

"So how did the thermos get back into the lab by the time we got home?" Maddie inquired.

"Well, the ghost kid didn't expect Danny to go home with Sam. He probably thought he was coming back here. When he figured out that Danny wasn't going straight home, the ghost kid asked Danny for the thermos back so he could return it."

Maddie smiled. Her husband was simple enough to make even complex situations seem logical.

"I just wonder how he managed to empty the thermos. It isn't something you can just do. You need to know how to first."

"Well, if he knew who we were and knew the Fenton Thermos was supposed to catch ghosts, he probably was spying on us longer than that. Maybe he was spying on us when we got the Ghost Portal online! Or maybe even before that!"

Maddie looked shocked. Why would a ghost child want to spy on them? It was obviously collecting knowledge, but for what?

"Jack, this could be a serious issue," Maddie said slowly. "Who knows what he's planning to do with all the information he's obviously gotten from the lab!"

"And our son is in contact with him! I can't believe it. My son, a Benedict Arnold to the Fenton cause! For the record, I blame you."

"Jack, Danny wouldn't give out top secret information," Maddie replied, ignoring the last part of her husband's declaration. "Maybe the ghost didn't tell Danny its plans and is using him to further his goal!"

"Well, if that's the case, we need to be careful. We don't want to scare him."

"You're right. I just wish I knew what the ghost was planning . . ."

"We'll look into this more later," Jack decided. "In the meantime, I guess I'll have to leave Santa Spook for next year," he added dejectedly.

"Aw, cheer up honey!" Maddie said cheerfully. "I made cookies! In the shape of ghosts with little Santa hats on them!"

Jack beamed at his wife in admiration. He planted a brief kiss on he cheek before bounding up the stairs to hunt for the sweets. Maddie smiled and followed him, flicking off the switch to the lights in the lab.

The only light in the lab was the green swirling vortex of ectoplasm that remained in the Ghost Portal. On the far wall, a shadow was cast as a serpentine snout and head slowly emerged from the green abyss. The black head twisted around, taking in its surroundings with red, glowing eyes. A forked tongue flicked out of the elongated snout, feeling the air. Satisfied that the atmosphere was capable of sustaining flight, the rest of the creature emerged from the Ghost Portal. Reaching a length of forty feet long from snout to tail, the serpent felt cramped in the lab, to put it lightly. Its thick, black hide pressed up against the walls and ceiling. Its spikes did nothing to ease its discomfort, nor did its small legs and clawed talons. A golden necklace with a deep purple gem in the center was visible on the serpent's neck. While the gold on the trinket stuck out, the purple gem matched the underbelly of the beast perfectly. After seeing no possible way to make the lab more comfortable, the serpent became intangible and floated up through the building. Taking a quick glance around, it sped off towards Amity Park Lake. Water was much more comfortable to swim about in than ectoplasm. Unfortunately, Amity Park Lake was located not fifty yards away from Casper High School.

To Be Continued.


	3. First Steps 2

Chapter XI

"Danny, at least try to cheer up," Sam encouraged her friend. "Who knows, maybe this year will be different!"

Danny looked at Sam with a bored expression, as if he had heard her say that before. As a matter of fact, he had heard her say that before. Last Christmas to be precise. And the one before that. And the one before that. You get the picture.

"Sam, there's no way that my parents will ever stop fighting about the existence of Santa," Danny said with a tired sigh. "They never have and they never will."

"I don't know, Danny," Tucker said as he sat down next to the raven haired boy. It was lunch, and usually one of the more pleasant times of the day. Since it gave Danny time to think about his current situation, it was anything _but_. "Maybe you've been too grumpy to notice, but your parents usually start this whole thing roughly a week after Thanksgiving. They only _just_ started talking about it a few days ago."

Danny had his head buried in his arms, clearly not listening to his friend.

"How about I make you a bet?" Tucker offered. "If your parents are in a massive argument over the existence of Santa when we get to your house, then I'll do. . ."

Tucker looked around the cafeteria, trying to find inspiration. His eyes rested on Paulina Sanchez, a young Hispanic woman that dominated most of the freshmen class with her perfectly manicured fist.

"Paulina . . ." Tucker said in a daze, not remembering how he had left his last sentence.

Danny's head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock. Sam looked at him with a similar expression. The two looked at each other before bursting into laughter, leaning on each other for support lest they fell over from laughing so hard.

"What? No, wait! That's not what I meant!" Tucker exclaimed. "Allow me to reiterate my wager," he said calmly after clearing his throat. "If your parents are in an argument over Santa when we get to your house after school, then I'll ask Paulina to the Christmas Dance."

"Ok, Tuck," Danny said with a chuckle. "Good luck with that. Should I get the REJECTED stamp out _now_, or would you prefer to have it inked onto your forehead _after_ you are actually turned down?"

"Oh, ha-ha Danny, that's good. Now, let me finish. If your parents have dropped the subject, or at least decided to lay off it a bit, then you have to do . . ."

"Paulina?" Danny asked hopefully. Sam let out an annoyed sigh.

"No, and will you stop teasing me about that?" Tucker almost shouted.

"I don't know, Tuck, you've put on some weight over the last few weeks. If you couldn't get in those jeans _before_ . . ."

"Danny!" Tucker and Sam shouted in unison.

Danny grinned. "I'm sorry, please continue."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "If your parents dropped the subject, then you have to . . ." Tucker paused. A brilliant idea popped into his mind. "Make out with Sam."

Danny's smug grin turned into an agape shocked expression in the blink of an eye. His face began to tinge red. Sam had been eating her salad and her fork fell out of her mouth, clinking to the lunch tray. A piece of lettuce or two dropped from her mouth and flittered to her plate. Her face was also becoming red.

It was Tucker's turn to wear the smug grin as his two friends looked at each other. As soon as their eyes connected the slight blush exploded across the rest of their faces. Tucker didn't bother to contain his laughter.

"What the heck, Tucker," Danny said slowly while turning to look at the boy. "You're messed up in the head, you know that?"

Sam glanced at Danny with sadness. "You know, even though Tucker_ is_ messed up in the head, you don't have to act like I have a disease, Danny."

Danny quickly looked back to Sam. "I didn't say that!" he argued. "I just said Tucker is sick in the head because he suggested that!"

"You're making it seem like it would be disgusting."

"I never said that!"

"But you're implying it . . ."

Danny furrowed his brow, thinking back into the conversation as to where she could have possibly gotten the idea.

"No, I'm not," he said after he was positive nothing he said carried any subliminal meaning. "I mean, we're best friends! We're not supposed to do that kinda stuff . . . are we?"

"I think you can make an exception, just this once," Tucker chimed in. "Its Christmas, after all. Oh wait, don't tell me, you're afraid!"

Danny's eyes flashed green, one of the telltale signs he was angry.

"Tucker, I'm half ghost," he whispered. "I'm not afraid of something like that."

"Well, if I'm right, then you'll get to prove it."

Danny glared at Tucker before resting his head in his hand.

"How long," he muttered.

"What?" Tucker asked.

"How long do Sam and I have to . . . you know."

"I'm not sure I understand your meaning," Tucker said with a grin. He loved seeing his friends squirm like this.

"A make out isn't a quick thing, Tuck," Danny said embarrassedly. "How long?" he repeated.

"One minute," Tucker responded. His grin grew wider as Sam and Danny blushed furiously. "I'll bring some oxygen masks in case you two get carried away." The blush on their faces deepened. "Jeeze, settle down you two! Your faces are going to explode!" That allowed for a nervous laugh from the two. "Well," Tucker added. _The_ _icing on the cake_, he thought. "At least it's the head in between Danny's _shoulders_ that's getting the most blood."

At this, Danny stood up, leaving his tray on the table. He stormed out of the cafeteria; his face was almost completely red. Tucker watched as Danny stomped through the doors before letting his laughter loose.

"Oh, that was great, Sam! Did you see the look on his face?"

Tucker looked at his friend expecting to see her laughing. Instead he saw her head down in her arms. The visible tips of her ears looked hot to the touch. Tucker smiled.

"Well, my work here is done," Tucker said before standing to leave. He took his tray and deposited the trash into the garbage bin and returned the tray to the rack. He was almost through the doors when he heard someone scream in terror.

To Be Continued

_A/N- So, that wasn't too long of a wait, was it? I said Wednesday . . . anywho, I'm a bit disappointed that I only have one review to usher in the new section, but I'm too happy to care. My Halo story reached 10,000+ hits! YAY! Anyway, I'd like to thank TDG3RD for reviewing, as always. Speaking of reviews, leave one! It will make you feel better inside!_


	4. First Steps 3

Chapter XII

Tucker ran down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. He reached out with his left hand and held the wall as he sharply turned the corner and used the momentum from his swing to propel him past rows of lockers and classroom doors as fast as possible. He heard yet another shriek and skidded to a halt near the source of the noise. Tucker found himself standing in front of the girls' restroom. A grin appeared on his face.

"Never fear, ladies, Tuck-AH!"

Tucker was cut off as the door swung open violently. A dazed Danny Fenton tumbled out backwards and fell on his bottom. His expression was distracted, as if he didn't really care what he had just done. Either that, or he was to distracted to know.

"What is wrong with you, Fenton?" asked a very annoyed Star. She was one of Paulina's friends, or rather, satellites. Those within the popular crowd found themselves with few or no actual friends. "I swear, you've been acting so weird lately!" she exclaimed. "When Lancer finds out-"

"Wait!" Tucker jumped in. "Uh, this was really my fault!"

Star looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked. "Then why was _he_ the one who barged in on me?"

"I kinda made him angry," Tucker explained slowly, not wanting to go into detail as to why. "He got all mad and stormed off."

"That's no excuse for going in the girls' room, Foley," she said with obvious contempt.

"No, really! Look, the guys' room is right next to it!"

Star sighed and looked at the door with a blue stick figure man on the front. The only thing that separated it from the door with a pink stick figure woman on the front was a thin section of wall that sported a water fountain. She returned her gaze to Foley with narrowed eyes.

"You're just lucky I was washing my hands," she growled at Danny, who seemed to be less distracted, although he was still sitting on the floor.

The dark haired boy looked up at the satellite and frowned as he stood. "Thanks," he mumbled before he glared at Tucker and resumed storming away.

Tucker was about to follow him to make sure he didn't have a repeat of the incident, but Star stopped him. "Why is he all spaced out like that?"

Tucker turned to regard Star. He thought about telling her, but frowned at the thought. "Why do you care? I mean, we're just _losers_ after all."

"Maybe if you paid better attention to who actually insults you, you would realize that I have never called you or your friends losers before."

"You always laugh when somebody else does and you never say or do anything to indicate that you have conflicting beliefs."

Star narrowed her eyes in an attempt to intimidate the boy, but her icy glare was returned even colder.

"You don't know what it's like, Tucker," she said sadly, casting her stare to the floor. Tucker was taken aback, never having been called his first name by someone in the A-List. "I mean, there's so much pressure and-"

Tucker put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you being pressured, or are you pressuring yourself?"

"I . . ."

"It was a rhetorical question. Seriously though, think about it. Are you happy getting mediocre grades and living a sham for the sake of high school popularity? You're smart, you're pretty, you have talent, and yet you hide it away from the world. Maybe its time you showed everyone what you're really like. Stars are much more beautiful when they shine."

Tucker winked at the girl and jogged after his friend, who had been given an unfair, and not to mention unsafe, head start.

"Danny, NO! That's another girls' room!" Tucker shouted as he shot down the hallway, out of Star's vision.

Of course, that didn't matter to Star. She was too busy thinking about what Tucker had said. He was not only smart, but wise. Almost sagely wise. She wiped a tear from her eye and returned to the cafeteria. Had she know Mr. Lancer was standing in an open door way, she wouldn't have looked so glum. Her gaze was directed at the floor, however, and she didn't see the muscular teacher or the tear that was hurriedly wiped from his own eye.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Say it," Sam said in a threatening voice. She had a snowball and was aiming it at Tucker's head.

Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but Tucker was standing on Casper High's dock that protruded twenty feet into Amity Park Lake. The water was frigid in the cold December weather, and the likelihood of hypothermia was high. There was also Tucker's heavy winter jacket that could easily become waterlogged. Not to mention the tiny little detail that Tucker couldn't swim. He was a very scared young man.

"Sam, you know how I feel about water! Come on, let me get off this dock and-"

Tucker ducked as a snowball whirled past his head.

"Hey!" he cried, trying to maintain his balance. "That one almost hit me!"

"The next one will, now say it!"

"I already did! I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry I said that thing about Danny, and I'm sorry I put him up to that dare! The deal's off!"

Sam looked at him with disdain, not dropping the second snowball she held in her hand.

"Sam, I just apologized for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes now PLEASE! LET ME GET ON LAND!"

"There's water here too, Tucker," she said motioning to the abundance of snow. "I don't know if its saf-"

"**OF COURSE IT'S SAFE!**" Tucker bellowed. "**WHAT KIND OF IGNORAMUS DROWNS IN SNOW?**"

Sam looked shocked. She knew Tucker hated the water, but he looked petrified right now. She thought she might have seen tears in his eyes, but it might have been the freezing winds making her own eyes tear up.

"Sorry Tucker, but Danny didn't deserve that, and neither did I."

"So you're going to kill me because I made you two blush?"

"You won't die, Tucker," Sam said. "I'll get you out."

"Hypothermia isn't going to wait until I'm out of the water and dried off to resume its vicious cycle. My lungs aren't going to wait to take in oxygen until I'm hauled onto land after being underwater for several minutes. Death won't wait to take me another day. If you can live with my death on your hands," Tucker moved from his cowardly stance to a braver, dignified one. "Then go ahead, throw your crude sphere of frozen crystals of water vapor. I'll see you in Hell."

Sam rolled her eyes and chucked the snowball at Tucker before turning around to walk away. _Falling off the dock from a snowball hit? How ridiculous,_ Sam thought.

Her amusement changed to horror as she heard a splash. She spun around, only to find Tucker was nowhere to be found. A large ripple effect spread out from the water where something had fallen in, Sam ran to the edge of the dock and looked down. On the edge of the wooden platform were the remains of a crude sphere of frozen crystals of water vapor.

"Oh God . . . Tucker! **TUCKER! HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP!**"

To Be Continued

_A/N- Well, in an unexpected turn of events, this story has been added to a C2 Community. Special thanks goes out to Pterodactyl for adding my story to his/her C2, I greatly appreciate it. I'm going to rename this section to something more appropriate. I had a different idea in mind for this section, but it was scrapped and I forgot about the section title. You'll find out that Desire, with one_ E_ or two, really doesn't pertain to this segment. I would like to thank my reviewers, who have been oh-so-kind and encouraging. Special thanks goes out to_ ghostlover15, HiddenAuthor, Natwolfess _and of course, _TDG3RD.


	5. First Steps 4

Chapter XIII

_Darkness._

The first think Tucker noticed when he opened his eyes was the absence of light. He tilted his head back and saw the sky, but it was faint and blurred. Then he remembered; he was under water. Tucker raised his arms above his head and tried to make for the surface, but his inability to swim and his heavy, water logged clothes weighed him down. Tucker stopped trying to move upwards, as he was wasting energy.

Tucker felt pressure. It pounded in his ears and he slowly felt his body being compressed. A slight grin came to his face at the thought. Hadn't he just told Star about not letting pressure affect her? Perhaps his situation was . . . different. Tucker stared lazily out into the abyss of Amity Park Lake. He never thought he would die so young. Especially not in water, but that was the cruel irony of life.

Tucker almost shut his eyes and resigned to his fate when a flash of purple moved in the distance. The young man thought it was a fish until he saw that it was coming closer. And getting bigger. Between small rays of sunlight breaking the water's surface Tucker could make out a large, serpentine figure gliding through the water towards him.

Amity Park may have been haunted, but there were never reports of a lake monster. The lake itself was manmade, so Tucker realized that it must have been his mind playing tricks on him. The serpent finally floated to a halt in the dark, icy depths of the lake not ten feet away from Tucker. It gazed at him with curious, glowing red eyes before becoming a bright translucent blue color. The creature shot forward and collided with the boy, but rather than knocking him aside, the snout of the serpent passed into the boy. Swiftly, the rest of the forty foot body entered the teenager until he was alone again. Of course, that was only physically.

Tucker felt as the serpent entered his torso, slowly filling the essence of his being. His eyes flashed red. The serpent's animalistic nature fused with Tucker's conscious mind. The ghost had taken over.

* * *

A large crowd of people had gathered around the dock. Several emergency teams were at the edge of the wooden platform suing different equipment to locate a boy who had supposedly slipped and fallen in. Sam was standing on the shore, standing next to Danny, Danny's parents and Tucker's parents. Her own were currently attending a literature seminar in New York. 

"Oh God," Sam whimpered. "Oh God, Tucker, I- I- oh God, oh God-"

"Sam, he'll be fine," Danny reassured her. Danny was also becoming annoyed with Sam's constant muttering, but he wasn't going to be rude and tell that to her face. "He's a genius, he'll figure a way out."

Sam wiped more tears away from her eyes and watched as a worker was given a thumbs up. Her heart pounded in her chest as the man jogged over to the family.

"Ok, they found something. It looks like a heavy red winter jacket. Would that be his?"

"Yes," Tucker's mother said wearily. She had been crying for a long time and had only recently calmed down. Tucker's father held her close against the frigid December winds and against the fear of loss.

"Can you tell if he's alive or not?" Tucker's father asked quietly.

"Sorry, Mr. Foley, we can't tell right now. We do know that there's a body in there, but other than that, we have no other information."

Tucker's father, Amity Park's mayor, lowered his head sadly. "Thank you."

The worker nodded solemnly and returned to the edge of the dock. Several minutes passed by.

"What the hell is that?" one worker said finally.

"I don't know, is he swimming?" another inquired.

"Without moving his legs? Not likely."

"Is he floating to the surface?"

"He's moving too fast to be floating. Get everyone off this dock immediately.

"Uh, he's moving faster!"

"Quick, move! **MOVE!**"

"Too late!"

The dock exploded as a flash of red soared out of the water beneath it. Wood planks were destroyed and splinters flew in all directions. The workers who were fortunate enough to jump into the water were only hit by tiny, slowly falling wood fragments. Those who didn't move were tossed dozens of feet into the air and landed with bone crunching thuds, announcing that they would only leave the place on stretchers. Or body bags.

The large crowd screamed and people took off running. Sam, Danny, Tucker's parents and the Fentons were rooted to the spot as they focused their attention at the figure floating in the sky. Water dripped from his saggy clothes. Aquatic weeds draped over his shoulders and twigs stuck out of his hair and were quickly freezing in the frigid winter air. His eyes glowed red, covering the pupils and whites. Tucker flew off into the distance roaring inhuman feral cries of rage.

"My boy . . ." Tucker's father said shocked. "What happened to him?"

"From what I can tell, he is being overshadowed," Maddie said as she looked at a portable monitor on her wrist. "By what, I'm not sure."

"Sam," Tucker's mother said shakily. "You were with Tucker before he fell in, did you see anything?"

Sam felt herself fall to her knees. She no longer tried to stifle her tears and sobbed uncontrollably.

"It was me," Sam whimpered.

Danny looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean it was you?"

"I hit him with a snowball, Danny," Sam sobbed. "I wanted payback for what he said to us at lunch, so I cornered him on the dock and . . . oh, Tucker! It's all my fault!"

Danny looked at Sam in surprise. He took offense at what Tucker said as well, but would've never gone so far as to knock him into Amity Park Lake. Especially in December.

Danny looked up at Tucker's parents. His mother looked furious, but his father was calm and contemplative.

"Mr. and Mrs. Foley, Sam and I will do everything in our power to get Tucker back," Danny offered. "You have our word."

Tucker's mother looked as though she was about to explode, but Mr. Foley spoke first. "I know you will."

Danny smiled at the Foleys as a limousine pulled up behind them.

"Please, bring my son back," the mayor said sadly as he and his wife entered the vehicle. It drove off until it disappeared.

"Danny," Maddie said. "I know you want to help Tucker, but you're dealing with a ghost here. It won't be so easy-"

"Mom," Danny interrupted. "Weren't you the one who told me that a ghost overshadowing a human can be removed with the proper persuasion? We're his friends. Let us think of a plan to get him back."

Maddie smiled at her son. He was maturing faster than he let on. The woman turned to her husband who had just wiped a tear from his eye with a gloved hand.

"That's my boy," he said. "If you need anything, just let you're dear old dad know and you've got it! Unless it isn't built yet."

Danny smiled. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it."

Maddie and Jack walked towards the Fenton RV. "Coming sweetie?" Maddie asked in a soothing voice in light of the situation.

"No, I think Sam and I will walk home."

Maddie nodded and climbed into the Assault Vehicle. It sped away, leaving the two teens alone by the lake shore. Ambulances were arriving on scene, asking witnesses what happened and moving the injured and dead off the grounds.

Danny and Sam left the area, finding a secluded spot where nobody could see them.

The two walked to a deserted area next to the frigid water. Normally, it was Danny's favorite place to go. It was secluded, quiet and decidedly romantic, although the young man could never think of a reason why _that_ would ever come in handy. The spot looked nice in the winter, although not as hospitable. Bare branches hung over a small clearing and covered a lone bench that overlooked the lake. It was large enough for a picnic blanket to be spread out over, but Danny usually just laid out on the grass and thought about things. He had told nobody, not even his friends about this seemingly forgotten piece of real-estate. Now, the secret was out.

After brushing snow off the bench, Danny sat down next to Sam.

"It wasn't your fault," Danny said softly after a long period of silence.

"Yes it was," Sam replied coldly.

"Tucker was probably trying to prove a point. You know how stubborn he is."

"I didn't need to do that. I could've just broken his PDA like I always do, but-"

Danny stood quickly, realizing something. "Sam, did Tucker have his PDA when you . . . you know."

"No, he didn't," Sam said with a distracted edge to her voice.

"He always has his PDA in his hands after school. You saw him walk out of the building without it, right?"

"I did kinda follow him around until I . . . No, he didn't have it," Sam said with finality, not wanting to bring up how she had almost killed Tucker.

"I can only remember one other time that happened," Danny recalled. "He left it in his locker in school."

"How does that help us?" Sam asked.

"We need to get the ghost out of him. For that, we need a plan. Tucker's PDA will give us clues as to how we should form that plan."

Sam marveled at how quickly Danny was thinking. Even with the apparent loss of a friend, he was able to keep himself together.

"But we're his friends," Sam pointed out, wiping her wet eyes. "He can't have too many secrets to keep from us, can he?"

Danny looked away from Sam's violet gaze. _You'd be surprised,_ Danny thought. "We need to see if there's anything in there we can use against him," Danny said lowly. "The ghost might react to that and leave his body."

Sam nodded and stood to follow her best friend out of his secret spot. She looked at him with confusion. "Do you keep secrets from me, Danny?"

Danny stopped in his tracks. "Yeah," he said without turning around. "Yeah I do."

Without another word, the two made their way back into the school in search of Tucker's beloved PDA.

* * *

"So, the ghost has done as instructed?" a shadow asked. 

A mechanical skull tore its green eyes from its trinoculars to look at the shadow. The rest of the body remained motionless, but that was to be expected, as it was an exo-suit.

"Yes," the robotic ghost replied in a deep voice. "The mayor's son has been overshadowed. Remind me to ask Terrakor how he manages to fit his forty foot long body inside a human child when this silly mission is over."

The shadow's red eyes squinted at the mechanical suit. "This silly mission is your highest paying assignment ever. I would have thought that the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary was more enthusiastic about his assignments. I never thought that you would call them silly."

"With all due respect, why do you need to torment the child? You only recently discovered his secret, let him do his own tormenting. It's more painful to him."

"You know from experience?" the shadow asked bemused.

"Of course."

"Hmm. If this operation fails, I will consider leaving the boy alone. In the meantime, you are to observe him. I want conclusive data in your reports, Skulker, none of your biased garble you usually give me. This mission is serious."

"Oh please, you said the same thing about retrieving the Skeleton Maps," the ghost said, returning his gaze to the young boy, only to find he disappeared. Skulker switched to thermal vision and found that he was with his female in a heavily covered area near the lake edge. "This will end up like all of your other crazy revenge schemes."

"Don't be so sure. I have a special feeling about this."

"Like the time you stole the Turpetrator's Odium Blade?"

The shadow visibly shuddered. "No, it's a different kind of feeling."

"You know, he's still out there somewhere," Skulker added absentmindedly while keeping his gaze trained on the boy and his mate. "You should've captured him."

"Enough!" the shadow hissed.

Skulker smiled, knowing he had struck a nerve. "Of course."

"I want to know everything that happens here, especially how Daniel defeats Terrakor. When you are finis-"

"Wait, _when_ he defeats Terrakor?" Skulker asked in confusion, returning his gaze to his employer. "How about _if_? That beast is not easily defeated."

"I believe Daniel may be on the verge of learning a new power. It took almost a month until I advanced significantly, but those were quiet times. Daniel is in a whole new world of experience. He will learn much faster."

"Doesn't that worry you?"

"I have twenty years under my belt, Skulker. The child wouldn't be able to best me."

_It would be quite amusing though,_ Skulker thought. "Well, you can rest soundly. I will see to it that you have a full report ready for you by the time this is all wrapped up."

The shadow nodded before vanishing n a wisp of pink smoke.

Skulker returned his gaze to the ghost child and his mate as they entered the poorly funded educational building.

"Let the games begin."

To Be Continued

_A/N- So, there's 13. Hope you all like this part. Now, can anyone make a guess as to what the serpent is in place of? Context clues, people, use them. Alright then, thanks for the reviews, as they keep me going. I'd like to send out a special thanks to_ HiddenAuthor, ghostlover15,_ and of course,_ TDG3RD.

_PS- OMG, the page break function is back! I was confused when it didn't work, but it seems as though they fixed it! It gets really annoying when you have to make your own, so I'm extremely happy right now._


	6. First Steps 5

Chapter XIV

Danny and Sam stood outside of Tucker's locker. Danny glanced around to make sure nobody was looking before passing his hand through his friend's locker. After fumbling around inside, Danny finally grasped the device and withdrew it.

"Good, the batteries are still charged," Danny stated after checking the power gauge. "Now, let's see if we can't find anything."

"This feels wrong," Sam said quietly. "I mean, I know Tucker's life depends on it and all, but still. We're violating his personal space."

Danny nodded in agreement as he typed furiously on the device. "Crap," he said. "This thing is password protected."

Sam looked at the screen as Danny held it lower for them both to see. "Did you try Paulina Foley?" she offered.

"Yeah, that was my first guess," Danny said with a grin. "I guess he figured that would be too obvious. He could've made his password in leet speak, so-"

"In what?"

Danny looked at her quizzically. "Leet speak? Sam, come on, you use it all the time! Instant Messaging and computer stuff is where you could find it the most."

"What is it?"

"You use numbers in place of letters to either make what you write hard to read or to abbreviate it."

"Oh."

"If Tucker's password is in leet speak, it could take days trying to crack the code."

Danny looked intently at the PDA, but his serious eyes glazed over.

"Danny?" Sam asked concerned.

Danny's eyes fluttered closed and his head tilted back before rocketing forward.

"**AH-CHOO!**"

Sam rolled her eyes, but gasped as she saw a green mist emerge from his nostrils and dissipate into the air.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance, ghost child?" said a deep voice.

Danny and Sam spun around and came face to face with what looked like a hulking robot. A flaming green Mohawk traveled down the top of its head and a similar flame formed a goatee on its chin. The flames matched the robot's eyes, which glowed intently. It wore black pants with dark green camouflage patterns. A sleeveless black shirt covered the torso. The robot took a step forward.

"I saw what happened to your friend, and I must say that I am deeply sorry."

Danny glared at the robot, but didn't attack. "Why do you even care?"

"Because Terrakor is a ghost, like me. His actions give all ghosts a bad reputation."

Danny continued to glare at the robot. "How can you help?"

The ghost took another step forward and snatched Tucker's PDA away from him. "For starters . . ." It tapped several keys before a digital tune could be heard. "You now have access to his PDA." The ghost offered it to Danny again.

The boy took it hesitantly. "What's your name?" he asked.

"I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary."

Danny looked at Skulker's face. It looked like a robotic skull. The hinged jaw, Danny saw, was filled with razor sharp teeth. A thin layer of _something_ acted as lips, as they were able to form expressions like the sinister, toothy grin it was now displaying.

"So, the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary?" Danny inquired. "Who do you work for?"

Skulker hesitated. "My employer's identity is none of your business, whelp," he said. "However, their interest in you is your business, I suppose."

"Your employer has an interest in me?" Danny asked confused.

"Why?" Sam jumped in. "He hasn't done anything to attract the likes of you."

"It's complicated," Skulker explained while rubbing the back of his neck. "Of course, my contract, as well as my life, would be terminated if my employer knew I was speaking to you. If it was witty banter during a dogfight, then that might be ok."

Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind," Skulker muttered. "The ghost that possessed your friend is Terrakor, an ancient serpent that terrorized earth during the Middle Ages. It was killed by the Knight of Acrimony and resumed its animalistic rage in the Ghost Zone. My employer convinced it to test your skills, and I was sent to observe."

Danny blinked twice, wearing a blank expression.

"For an honors student in high school, you're quite dense, child. Simply put, your friend would be doomed under normal circumstances." Skulker reached into a pocket on his ammo pouch and tossed Danny a disc that looked compatible with a computer.

"Then again, you aren't exactly _normal_ yourself. That disc contains everything you need to know about Terrakor, his strengths, weaknesses, _everything_."

Danny and Sam looked at Skulker with confusion, but it was clear this ghostly gift enthralled them.

"Th-thanks?" Danny stuttered.

"Take heed, whelp. If Terrakor is not removed from your friend within forty eight hours, he will die."

Skulker turned invisible and intangible and floated up through the roof.

"Well, I guess all ghosts aren't evil after all," Danny said. "Come on, let's get this back to my place."

Sam didn't object and followed Danny as he ran out of the school.

* * *

Skulker stood on top of a nearby apartment complex and watched as the ghost child and his mate left the building. A smile appeared on his face. 

Skulker was given strict orders not to interfere in the mission. His statement about termination was truthful. Skulker had been told that the ghost child was to defeat Terrakor on his own so that he could become adaptive and learn. Apparently, Skulker's employer had failed to do research on the dragon ghost. The ghost child was not supposed to encounter any "snags". That meant no family or friend casualties. If the boy who Terrakor was overshadowing died, the depression that the shadow had so fervently feared would become reality.

The ghost child was not supposed to have any extra advantages, but Skulker thought that was absurd. The shadow had plenty of unfair advantages in life.

To Be Continued

_A/N- Sorry this chapter's so short, but the action picks up next time. Not much else to say, so I think my reviewers, especially_ ghostlover15, HiddenAuthor, titanfan _and_ TDG3RD. _You guys are awesome!_


	7. First Steps 6

Chapter XV

"Ok Sam, you go through Tucker's PDA. I'll see what's on this disc that Skulker gave us."

Danny opened the door to his room and the two rushed in. Danny took his seat at his computer and slid the disc into the PC. Sam flopped onto the boy's bed while scanning through his personal information.

"I found a journal," Sam noted. "The last entry was made at two thirty, right before he . . . fell in."

Danny cast a worried glance at Sam before returning his attention to his computer. The data on the disc had been opened and Danny was scrolling through it. There was plenty of information and Danny was surprised at the concise and helpful information it provided. There was a large section on removing it from host bodies and how to combat it in person.

"Hey Danny," Sam said from his bed.

"Hmm?" the boy replied.

"I think we might have something. Turns out Tucker has a secret crush on someone other than Paulina."

"Sam, Tucker and I don't really like Paulina," Danny said in a distracted tone. "I mean, she's drop-dead gorgeous, but Tucker and I realize that she's shallow, conniving and quite possibly mentally deficient. There are plenty of other girls that we like. Paulina's just a distraction to keep you from finding out."

Sam stared at Danny in disbelief. It was as if he was in a trance or something to that effect. "So," she asked. "Who do you _really_ like?"

"Tucker's had the biggest crush on Star ever since we were in the sixth grade. I kept telling him to try an athletic gimmick, but he said something very wise that day, and I apply it to almost everything in my life."

"What was that?"

"Forget 'em if they can't like you for you. Of course, he used a different **F** word than _forget_, but you get the meaning."

Sam smiled. Very like Tucker to be a genius in more ways than one. "Well, he definitely mentions her a lot in his journal. How about you Danny? Who do you like?"

As if the trance was broken, Danny swiveled about in his computer chair. "That's _confidential_," he said with a smirk before spinning back around.

"So, any ideas how to stop this thing?" Sam asked.

"I've only been _skimming_ through this and I think I could _kill_ it already. That Skulker guy really knows his stuff."

"Question is can we save Tucker?"

"Oh, we can save Tucker alright," Danny said with a grin. "This Terrakor thing is a beast. It acts like an animal, which makes sense, but when it overshadows people it makes them act like animals too and it amplifies their base emotions."

"What?"

"If Tucker finds something that makes him happy, he'd write it down for future reference, but if this Terrakor thing found something that made it happy, he would use it until he got bored."

"So, if Tucker found something that made him angry . . ."

"He'd walk away. Terrakor would destroy it. The dragon ghost can be drawn out by sending it over the edge. If it becomes infuriated, it will abandon its host and attack."

"So we need to piss it off?"

"No. We need to piss Tucker off. Badly."

* * *

Tucker looked down upon Amity Park. Cars moving below him looked like ants and people were scarcely visible. 

_FEED._ Said a voice in his head.

"What?" Tucker asked. Nobody responded.

_FEED! HUNGER . . ._

"Who's there?" Tucker asked.

_I MUST FEED. WE MUST FEED!_

"Who are you?"

_I AM YOUR OTHER._

"My other? What does that mean?"

_I SAVED YOU. REMEMBER? WATER. COLD. DARK._

Images of the unfortunate events from prior in the day flashed across his mind. "That was an accident! My accident! I'm the one who slipped!"

_YOU COULD HAVE PERISHED. I SAVED YOU. NOW, I AM HUNGRY._

"Hungry for what?"

_WHAT DO WE WANT? HMM. MEAT. **MEAT!** WE DESIRE MEAT!_

"Well, the Nasty Burger has a good quad-decker angus burger-"

_FOOD! NASTY BURGER, MEAT! MEAT!_

Tucker felt himself float off the top of Amity Park's clock tower. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there, but he hadn't done anything about it. He still wasn't. "What are you doing?" he shrieked. "I can't fly!"

YOU_ CAN'T FLY. _WE_ CAN!_

Tucker felt himself rocket through the air. A presence invaded his mind, searching through memories. Experiences of happiness, love, loss, merriment, but most importantly, meat were brought forth. The location of the Nasty Burger was included.

"Hey, that's my mind! You can't do that!"

_WE ARE ONE IN THE SAME. WHAT BELONGS TO YOU BELONGS TO ME._

"Well, just don't hurt anybody."

_GRRR._

Tucker felt himself fly through the air. Despite the fact that there was a forty foot long dragon ghost inside him, the feeling of soaring through the air without limitations was invigorating! He soared past buildings with impossible speed. Onlookers pointed fingers as he passed, astonished by the sight of the mayor's son soaring through the sky.

_HAPPY?_

"A little."

_HMMM._

Tucker finally touched down outside the fast food joint. He felt his head jerk around, his nostrils taking in the air around him.

_THERE IS MEAT . . . SO MUCH MEAT! _

"Well, just remember I'm on a budget, so-"

_YOU ARE THE SON OF THE ALPHA MALE OF THIS PACK. THE OTHERS WILL DO NOTHING TO HINDER OUR EFFORTS._

"And if they do?"

_THEN WE SHALL _REEDUCATE_ THEM._

Tucker felt his body stride up to the doors and push them open. His legs moved him to the cashier. His gaze fell on the overhead menu.

"Welcome to the Nasty Burger," said the uninterested employee. "May I take your order?"

"Yes, I will have _ALL THE MEAT!_"

Tucker clapped his hands over his mouth and received an odd glare from the young woman at the counter.

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, one second!" Tucker turned around. _What are you doing? Let me handle this!_

_YOU? THEY WILL NEVER GIVE IN TO OUR DEMANDS IF YOU TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT! THEY ARE YOUR UNDERLINGS! OBSERVE!_

Tucker felt his body rise up off the ground. "_IF ALL OF THE MEAT IS NOT PRESENTED TO ME THIS INSTANT, I SHALL BURN YTHIS FACILITY TO CINDERS! AND I'LL BURN THE CINDERS TO CINDERS!"_

The customers panicked and fled the restaurant. The young woman at the counter fainted and slumped to the ground. Tucker could see her unconscious form from his vantage point in the air.

_DO YOU DESIRE _THAT_ INSTEAD?_

"What? NO! I was just making sure she is ok!"

_PERHAPS I WAS THINKING ONLY OF OUR BELLY. SATISFACTION CAN COME IN MANY FORMS . . ._

"NO!"

_AH, RESENTMENT! OF COURSE, IT IS NOT _I _WHO YOU RESENT, IS IT? IT IS THAT DREADED WITCH, SAMANTHA! SHE TRIED TO KILL YOU! SHE WILL DIE!_

"I already told you, it was my fault!"

_YOU FEEL IT TOO. YOU WANT TO MAKE HER PAY. YOU WANT TO HEAR HER SCREAM. YOU WANT TO TEAR HER LIMB FROM LIMB! SHE WILL SUFFER!_

"No-ah, wh-what's happening to me?"

_YOU FEEL IT. THE ANGER, THE RESNETMENT! USE IT TO OUR ADVANTAGE! THE WITCH SHALL PAY FOR WHAT SHE DID!_

"S-Sam . . . she didn't-d- DIE! SAM WILL DIE!"

To Be Continued

_A/N- Wow, 40 reviews! That is one thousand three hundred and thirty seven! I think this story is going to do much better than The Master Chief Saga at the rate this is going. So, Tucker is giving in to Terrakor's motivation! How will Danny and Sam save him? Will a third, yet-to-be-named character play a role in his liberation? Will Tucker even _be_ liberated? Find out in the next chapter. Special thanks goes out to_ ghostlover15, HiddenAuthor, Ant Crown, titanfan _and obviously_, TDG3RD. _All 'yall are teh meguhurtz!_


	8. First Steps 7

Chapter XVI

It had been a full day since Tucker had been overshadowed. Danny and Sam decided to rid their friend of his ghostly parasite before his time was up. The night of the school's dance was perfect.

"Alright," Danny said. "Here's the plan."

"Danny, can you please take that stupid hat off?" Sam asked.

The boy grabbed the camouflaged fishing hat off his head and hugged it close. His white hair was matted to his head. "But you said I could wear it!"

"You look ridiculous."

"I think I look good," Danny said.

Sam had to admit, he had selected a decent outfit for their mission. Over his black and white hazmat suit, Danny stuck on a pair of camouflaged pants. The shades of green accentuated his glowing eyes nicely. Over his upper body were crisscrossing ammo belts which contained actual machine-gun bullets. A black trench coat was draped over his shoulder him and complimented his black spandex suit and white hair. The hat, which Sam disapproved of, would sit atop his head. A pair of sunglasses completed the look.

"You look like a dorky Neo, but more accident prone. I will not let you fight crime in that outfit _ever_ again."

"Whatever, but just this once?"

"Fine," Sam said with an exasperated sigh.

Danny looked at the hat in his hands. He slowly looked back at Sam. "Can I-"

"Yes, you can wear the hat!"

Danny smiled and placed it back on his head. "Now then, the plan." He spread a wide piece of paper out on the table in front of him. There were words scribbled in random places and poorly drawn stick figures. "You and I will enter the school dance at seven tonight when it's in full swing. Tucker will show up, and that's when I attack Star."

"WHAT?" Sam shouted. "Attack Star? How does that help?"

"Tucker likes Star. He would be very angry if someone did something to her."

"I realize that, but Star isn't going to like being dragged used as bait."

"Well, lucky for us, I already asked her."

Sam stared at Danny blankly. "Come again?"

"I went to her last night in my ghost form and told her what happened and what I was planning. She agreed and said she's be waiting to do her part at the dance."

"Star is willing to help get Tucker back?" Sam asked incredulously. "How?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but she didn't seem too happy when I told her he was being possessed."

"That's weird."

"At this point, I don't care. Besides, Tucker's being overshadowed by a forty foot dragon, we got help from a ghost mercenary and you managed to get vintage World War Two machine gun ammo straps. Star being upset that Tucker is trouble is normal compared to all that."

"Point taken."

"So, It's six thirty, should we be on our way?" Danny asked after looking at his high-tech wrist watch, courtesy of his father. It also had an ecto-laser built into it.

"Yeah. Let's go get our friend back."

"We're not going to be able to go out on the streets like this," Danny said as he looked at himself and Sam.

Sam was wearing baggy black jeans with chains hanging from various pockets and belt loops. Steel-toed combat boots protected her feet. A tight, long-sleeved tee shirt covered her upper body and had a dark purple stripe that ran down the center. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was also wearing a long black trench coat and dark sunglasses.

"You're right, what are we going to do?"

Danny stepped behind her and put his hands on her waist. "I'm a ghost, remember?"

Danny floated off the ground with Sam firmly in his arms. He phased them out of the building they were in and they both looked down. Danny had set up an HQ inside Amity Park's old clock tower. It was spooky enough, and that was good since Danny's theme was _ghostly_. It was also several stories above the ground.

"Best not to attract unwanted attention," Danny muttered.

He turned himself and Sam invisible and took off through the darkening sky. It was a good five minutes before he arrived at the school. He touched down behind the gymnasium and released Sam from his grasp.

"Alright, I'm going inside to find Star," Danny announced. "You stay out here and tell me if you see Tucker."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You got a watch from my dad?"

"Yeah."

"Well, apart from telling time and firing lasers, it's a portable communicator. Just press the red button and talk into it."

"Oh. That's handy."

"Of course it is, My dad thought of it. Now, just wait here, I'll be-"

"Wait! How are you going to tell Star who you are?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't just go in there and say 'Hey, it's me, Danny!'. Your voice is too similar in your ghost half and she'd figure out who you really are eventually."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess your right," he said. "Ok, so I need a name for my super hero half."

"How about Ghost Boy?" Sam offered.

"That won't work when I get older," Danny stated.

"Ghost Man?"

"Won't work now."

"Sir Spooky?"

"Gay."

"Boo Berry?"

"What am I, a breakfast cereal?"

"Hmm." Sam rubbed her chin. "How about The Phantom?"

"Hmm, that's good, but having_ the_ before _Phantom_ would get annoying. Phantom sounds all mysterious and whatnot. I like it! Phantom it is. Ok, I'll be right back."

Danny turned intangible and floated down into the ground. Sam smiled when he was gone and turned her gaze to the night sky, looking for any sign of her friend.

* * *

Star was bored. Really, truly bored. Kwan had left her as soon as they had their pictures taken and was chatting it up with his football buddies. Star noted that all of her friends were dancing like hussies in the middle of the room. She sighed in disgust and rolled her eyes. 

That kind of dancing was degrading and didn't do much to improve a girl's self image. Slow dancing was fine, if only because it was sophisticated. Not to mention easy to do.

Star had the ability to dance like her friends were doing, and he had done so many times before. She was just fed up with everything now that Tucker had opened her eyes to the world. It was all a lie. And now, the kind boy who had shown her the light was in peril, and she was being called upon to save him.

"Psst! Star!" came a quiet voice.

"Hmm?" She looked around, trying to find the source. She recognized that voice. "Where are you?" she whispered.

"Right next to you," the voice replied quietly. "It's me, Phantom. I came to make sure you were ready."

"I've been ready. When is he supposed to be here?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Phantom whispered. "But he will, trust me. He has every reason to."

"Why?" Star asked curiously.

"Uh," Phantom laughed nervously. "I kinda sent him a note. I used your name."

Star turned red. An angry red. "You what?" she hissed. "What did you tell him in my note?"

"Uh, well, I told him that you wanted to see him tonight. I didn't write anything that would be out of your character. Then again, the note seems to be out of your character . . ."

"How would you know?"

"I, uh, well, uh," Phantom struggled for a response. "He told me that your group wasn't the nicest group of people."

Star snorted in a snobbish way. "Well, if you pull a stunt like that again, you'll find out why."

Phantom gulped nervously. "Well, you won't have to worry about that ever again. I need to go, just remember your part. Oh, and Star?"

"What?"

". . . You look nice."

"Uh, thanks?"

There was no response. Star sighed, thankful that nobody had seen her conversation. Phantom, as he called himself, was pretty weird. When he approached her the night before, she had been frightened, but then he revealed his plan, so crazy it was doomed to failure in the thought process. Tucker's life was on the line, and she couldn't refuse.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Sam asked as the temperature dropped dramatically. She heard a sigh and the sound of fabric meeting snow. Sam turned around to see Danny lying on his back. 

"I think I endangered my existence. I sent a letter to Tucker and used her name. She didn't take it very well."

"Ouch."

"And now I'm lying on the snow ready to die."

"Why is that?"

Danny hesitated. "I sent him another letter. Wanna guess whose name I used that time?"

It took Sam only a second before she realized Danny was speaking of her. She pounced on him and straddled his waist. "You little-"

Sam watched as Danny's eyes, once full of fear of being pummeled glazed over. "Danny? You ok?" She never got her answer. He reached up and put one of his hands behind her head and the other behind her back. He began to pull her closer and Sam's heart began to speed up. It slowed down when she realized her head was directed to the_ side_ of Danny's as he let lose a violent sneeze.

"Ah- CHOO!"

Sam rolled off of Danny in time to see the neon-green mist evaporate in the air.

"Tucker?" she asked as Danny sat up, rubbing his nose.

"Either that or ghostly allergies." Danny replied. The sound of a horrible, beastly cry pierced the night sky and Danny decided on the former of the two options. As he saw Tucker glide through the air, he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. "I'm going in. Cover me out here," Danny said as he ran through the wall of the gym.

Sam glanced at the bike rack, making sure her bike was still chained to the wall as it had been earlier in the day. Making sure it was, she leaned back on the grass, with a Fenton Thermos tucked inside her coat.

* * *

Tucker flew through the sky towards Casper High. Dim lights emanated from the gymnasium and cast an eerie glow around that section of the building. 

_SO THE FEMALE YOU LOVE AND THE MURDEROUS WITCH HAVE REQUESTED YOUR PRESENCE ON THE SAME NIGHT?_

"They have. Samantha wishes to apologize and Star desires my company."

_AND WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING?_

"I am going to destroy Samantha in front of Star. Star will be amazed at my display of strength and fall right into my arms."

_A SOUND PLAN. MAY I INQUIRE AS TO HOW YOU WILL BE DISPOSING OF THE HARLOT?_

"Rest assured it will be painful and gory. Think Hostel, but with more dismemberment."

_OOH, SOUNDS GOOD._

Tucker grinned. His red eyes scanned the area before he silently landed on the roof of the gym. "First things first," Tucker said. "Star."

* * *

"Star?" Phantom whispered. "It's almost time. You have what I need?" 

Star looked around, startled by the sudden intrusion. She then reached into her purse and presented a piece of her dress. It looked like it had been ripped from the gown itself.

"Great," the ghost said as he took it. The fabric vanished into thin air. "He's here, so just be ready to hang on."

Star nodded nervously. Her gaze was drawn to the people in the middle of the gym, dancing without a care. Their bubble of ignorance was popped as a small explosion rocked the building. A section of the wall was blasted away and a lone figure with flaring red eyes floated in the dust.

"STAR," it said slowly. "STAR!"

"Just sit tight, Star. I'll be back in a second."

"O-ok," she stuttered.

Tucker floated into the gym and grinned at the panicking students as they tried to find a way out. "Mortal fools!" Tucker cried. His voice sounded warped, as if there was another voice speaking in synch with his own. "Bow before us!"

Tucker sent a lance of purple ectoplasmic energy at the ground through his hand. The floor was singed and made everyone inside panic even more. Tucker looked at the screaming, terrified people with disgust until his eyes fell on Star. A twisted grin appeared on his face and he floated over to her.

"Ah, we meet again. You are shining brightly this evening."

Star looked petrified. Out of the corner of her peripheral vision she saw a flash of black.

"Tucker Foley," said Phantom. "And Terrakor. What a pleasant surprise!"

Tucker spun about and stared at the figure with hatred. "You know of us?"

"Of course I know of you," Phantom said mockingly. "You're the spirit of cowardice! Hiding inside children to further your goals."

Tucker's red eyes flashed brighter before settling down. "And I suppose you are the epitome of bravery?"

Phantom's eyes glowed green behind his sunglasses. "I'm the epitome of LOOK A SQUIRREL!"

Tucker whirled around out of reflex. He had been bitten by one as a child and it traumatized him. If there was even the slightest chance of a rodent being in the area, Tucker wasn't going to let it just go unnoticed. Seeing that there was no squirrel in sight, Tucker turned back around, only to find Phantom holding Star in the air.

"So, you like this girl? I didn't have a good experience with them before I died. I kill the pretty ones. You know how the saying goes, if I can't have them, LOOK, A SQUIRREL!"

Tucker spun about quickly, again out of reflex. He quickly shifted his gaze to Phantom, only to find that the ghost had left the gymnasium. Star was nowhere to be seen.

"_YOU SHALL DIE! YOU AND THAT CONNIVING WITCH WILL DIE!"_

Tucker shot out of the building, choosing to blast through the roof rather than phase through it, and caught sight of Phantom flying off towards the clock tower. Thinking of all the grisly deaths Star could suffer, Tucker shot after them.

* * *

"You've done great so far," Danny said. "And I'm sorry if you're a bit uncomfortable, but I'll fix that once we get to the tower." 

Star noted that Phantom's hands were uncomfortably close to her rear end, but at their current altitude it was perfectly fine as long as the ghost boy didn't drop her. Her legs were wrapped around his wait and she held onto the lose fabric of his trench coat.

"How much further?" she asked nervously.

"Only a few more yards," Danny said. "Why?"

A purple beam of ectoplasm soared over them and disappeared in the night sky.

"That's why," Star replied.

"_RETURN STAR TO ME NOW!"_

"There are plenty of other stars in the sky; can't I just keep this one?" A purple ghost ray whizzed over his head. "I'll take that as a _no_."

Tucker roared a horrible, earsplitting cry and swooped in. Danny threw Star up in the air and launched a punch at Tucker's face. His fist connected and Tucker was blasted back into the air. Danny caught Star as she began to fall and swerved around to meet Tucker. He had already recovered and was making another run. Danny tossed Star at Tucker and pulled his sleeve away from his watch. Tucker was taken aback by the unexpected move and maneuvered around the falling girl to receive a blast to the face, this time from a laser.

"You SUCK!" Phantom called.

Tucker clawed at his sizzling face and tore the burning skin off. The damaged tissue regenerated and Tucker turned around to see Star was clinging onto Danny for dear life.

"I'm getting bored," Phantom called. "How about we raise the blinds?"

Tucker raised an eyebrow as Danny came at him, lasers blasting. Each one scored a hit and Tucker flinched in pain. Danny drew his hand back and struck Tucker in the stomach. The boy doubled over, saliva, blood and ectoplasm dripped from his mouth.

Tucker recovered in time to get a laser blast that tore across his eyes. "Get it?" Phantom called. "I said raise the blinds! It's a poker reference, but now you can't see! Isn't that funny?"

Tucker roared in anger and blasted Danny in the chest with eye beams that shot out from his pupils. Danny cried out in pain and wobbled in the air a bit. "Ok," Phantom said. "So that's how it's going down."

Danny drew his fist back and thought about punching him in the face. From his distance, such a feat was impossible. His body did the next best thing. Danny's fist shot forward and let out a stream of green ectoplasmic energy. It sailed through the air and connected with Tucker's head, snapping it back and sending him through the air.

"Wow," Star said, looking at Danny's smoking hand. "That was cool."

"Yeah, it was," he said, marveling at his hand.

"Then again," she added playfully. "Tucker can shoot eye beams."

Danny scowled. "Are you ready? I think I got him angry enough."

"Yeah, I'm ready. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Of course. Tucker's life is on the line, here."

Star nodded. She gasped as Tucker regained his stability and shot through the air towards them.

"I grow bored, Tucker," Phantom said. "Its time to end this!"

To Be Continued

_A/N- Alrighy then, a super exciting part of the fight is coming up next, so stay tuned! I hope y'all are enjoyin' the story thus far. Can you believe that this is only the second episode? I can't. Just a heads up, updates might not be as frequent since I'm not allowed to use the computer that much during the week. So, that being said, thanks for all the reviews. Special thanks goes out to_ HiddenAuthor, ghostlover15, TDG3RD, _and_ leadfoot352.


	9. First Steps 8

Chapter XVII

Tucker watched in horror as Phantom held Star out by her wrist. He spun around in a circle and launched Star at the clock tower using his built up momentum. Phantom pulled a bullet from one of his ammo straps and threw it after the girl and fired a laser from his wrist watch. The bulled connected with the wall at the same time Star did. Tucker roared in fury as Star was engulfed by an explosion.

"Well, isn't that tragic," Phantom said with mock sadness. "Oh look, she left you a little something to remember her by."

Phantom took a piece of fabric from his pocket and flung it into the air. Tucker caught it as it fluttered slowly downwards. A tear formed in his eye, seeing that it was a piece of cloth from Star's dress.

"You heathen!" Tucker roared, his body beginning to shake. "You murdered her! YOU MURDERED HER!"

Phantom watched in shock as Tucker's head snapped back. His mouth opened widely and a stream of black shot out from his throat. The gaseous cloud of black ectoplasm continued to pour from the boy until it became a large cloud floating in the night sky. Tucker wobbled in the air and began to plummet to the ground as the final wisp of gas escaped his mouth. Phantom flew in and caught him before he fell too far. He turned to place Tucker in the clock tower and came face to face with Terrakor in its natural serpentine form.

"_SO, YOU'VE REMOVED ME FROM THAT CHILD? I SUPPOSE YOU THINK YOU'VE BEATEN ME."_

"This party's just getting started," Phantom replied as he pulled two ecto-SMGs from the folds of his cloak and fired them into the dragon's eyes.

The beast roared in pain and tried to claw at its burning face with its stubby legs. Phantom took the opportunity to safely deposit Tucker in his HQ before returning to fight the dragon.

"_ONCE I AM FINISHED WITH YOU, THAT DISPICABLE FEMALE WILL BURN!"_ Terrakor spewed a stream of dark purple, ectoplasmic liquid fire at Phantom, who barely dodged it. "_AND I SHALL SEE TO IT THAT THE BOY IS PAIRED WITH HIS DESIRED MATE."_

Phantom clumsily cart wheeled away from another blast of fire. "Why does it even matter to you?" he asked while sending out his own blasts from his guns, hands and watch. "You don't need him anymore!"

"_THE BOY PROVED TO BE MOST USEFUL. THE DEATH OF SAMANTHA AND HIS COUPLING WITH STAR SHALL BE MY GIFT TO HIM!"_

"He won't let you do either of those things," Phantom said. He turned intangible and let a stream of fire pass through him. "Tucker is free from your hold. He can make his own decisions now."

"_IF HE REFUSES THEN HE SHALL BURN LIKE THE MISERABLE LOT OF YOU VERMIN!"_

Phantom ducked as Terrakor shot past him, centimeters over his head. The dragon's tail curved downwards and the jagged end stabbed into Phantom's stomach, causing him to scream in pain. Terrakor brought his tail up to his face to look at his captive.

"_I SHALL ENJOY BURNING YOU ALIVE, GHOST CHILD,"_ Terrakor growled.

The dragon opened its mouth. Phantom could see the glow of fire from within as it was prepared to be hurled at his body.

"And I shall enjoy trapping you in a thermos!" Phantom cried out. In desperation, he pointed his hand at Terrakor's open mouth and fired an ecto-ray into it. The blast connected with the flame and Terrakor's throat exploded in a blossom of purple and green flames. The dragon's tail slid out of Phantom's stomach as it plummetted to the ground and the wound sealed over.

"Danny? Danny, can you hear me?" Sam asked from his watch.

"Sam! I'm at the clock tower, where are you?"

"I'm on my way. I have the thermos with me."

"Be careful, Sam. I managed to hurt the dragon, but it fell to the ground. Keep your eyes-"

Phantom was cut short when he heard a scream from Sam's line just before the signal was lost.

* * *

"Be careful," Danny warned. "I managed to hurt the dragon, but it fell to the ground. Keep your eyes-" 

Sam looked up into the sky and saw a large serpentine figure rapidly descending towards her. She screamed and stumbled backwards, tripping over the sidewalk and breaking her watch against a street sign. Sam turned her attention to the large ghost in front of her that had fallen to the pavement with a tremendous thud. It was sprawled across the street and looked as dead as a ghost can look. A large wound slowly filled the road with a slick, black blood.

Sam took several steps closer and pulled the Fenton Thermos from her jacket. She inched even closer, examining the beast. Suddenly, an eye snapped open revealing a large purple iris and a slitted black pupil.

"_SAM,"_ it said. "_YOU ARE THE ONE WHO ALMOST KILLED TUCKER."_ Terrakor stood from the ground and looked down with Sam with hatred. _"HE WOULD BE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS! YOU ARE A MURDERER! YOU AND THAT FIENDISH GHOST CHILD!"_

Sam watched as the dragon belched a purple fireball at her. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. It never came. Sam opened one eye and saw that Phantom was hovering in front of her, a wide green blast from his watch blasted the fireball into nothingness.

_"HOW CONVIENIENT! I SHALL DESTROY BOTH OF YOU AT THE SAME TIME!"_

"That's not going to happen," Danny said. He pulled what looked like a fishing rod from the folds of his trench coat. He flew forward with blinding speed and hooked Terrakor on his upper lip as he passed into the beast's mouth.

* * *

"Ah," Tucker groaned. He slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. "Where am I?" he asked himself. 

The room looked old and musty as if it hadn't been used in years. Old, broken gears dotted the dusty floor and a table sat in the middle. A lone figure sat at the table in a bright orange dress.

"You're awake!" Star squealed as she ran over to the boy.

"Yeah, uh, where the heck am I?"

"We're in Phantom's base," Star said quietly. "He brought you here after he saved you."

"Phantom?" Tucker asked. He stood from the dirty floor and rubbed his head. "That name sounds familiar . . ."

"You mean you don't remember him? You two were fighting until he, uh, put me here."

"Put you here?"

"It was kinda scary actually. There was a brown sheet that covered a section of the wall. He threw me through it and it was rigged to shoot fire around the hole once I was through."

"Really?" Tucker asked. "That's very clever." He walked over to the table that dominated the floor. Blueprints were spread across its surface. "This looks like Danny's handwriting," he muttered.

"What?" Star asked confused. "Danny Fenton? How is he involved in this?"

Tucker rubbed his chin. Suddenly a thought hit him. Could Phantom be Fenton? "Well," Tucker said cautiously. "I bet Danny was helping this Phantom character. How else would he know where the gym was and stuff like that?"

"Hmm. That does make sense," Star said quietly.

Tucker sighed in relief that he hadn't revealed his friend's secret. "Where did Phantom go after he put me here?"

"I don't know, but i heard an explosion a few minutes ago. I hope he's ok," Star said worriedly.

"I'm just glad you're ok."

Star looked at him. A smile made its way onto her face. "Thanks."

Tucker smiled back. He found himself leaning towards the girl before him. Star began to lean towards Tucker. The two inched closer and closer, their lips barely centimeters away. Then their world came crashind down.

* * *

Phantom phased through the back of Terrakor and blasted through the foundation of a building. He pulled on the fishing pole with all of his super human might and the serpent was yanked back into the structure. Phantom made the pole intangible and passed it into the street, keeping Terrakor anchored to the side of the building. Phantom flew back around to face his adversary. 

"Not so tough now, are you?" he taunted.

_"YOU_ FOOL!_ EVEN IN SUCCESS, YOU _LOSE!_"_

Phantom watched in horror as Terrakor backed into the hole in the building and wrapped his snake-like figure around the center.

_"IRONIC, ISN'T IT,"_ Terrakor growled as his body tightened around the building. _"THE HERO CAN ONLY SAVE HIMSELF."_

The serpent squeezed tighter and the supports for the building snapped. Terrakor pulled away quickly, causing the upper half to fall towards Phantom and Sam. The two looked at the top of the building. A glass clock came rushing towards them.

"Sam, MOVE!" Phantom shouted as he blasted towards the falling tower. He had to save Star and Tucker. He _had_ to. What he hadn't expected was Sam not listening to him. She was rooted to the spot and could only stare in disbelief as the tower fell faster and faster, ready to crush her into a red paste.

"The Life of Sir Alexander Flemming! MOVE SAMANTHA!"

To Be Continued

_A/N- Ok, this is probably the last update this week. I need more time to write more chapters, so I leave you with this cliff hanger until next time (who's the person who called it a cliff hanger in the first place?). So, thanks for those who reviewed and those of you who filled up my inbox with e-mails, even though you could've just left a review. Its ok though, I appreciate it just the same. Special thanks goes out to_ HiddenAuthor _(where'd you go? get it? you're hidden, so we can't see you . . . ok, never mind),_ leadfoot352, Celestial Maiden Sukira, TDG3RD _and_ titanfan. _Aite, paece!_


	10. First Steps 9

Chapter XVIII

Phantom burst through the glass clock face, sending glass flying in all directions. After frantically looking about, he located Tucker and Star who were trying to keep from falling into the weakened wall to their death.

"Tucker! Star! Hang on!" Phantom soared through falling debris and passing through support beams to the two teenagers. He grabbed both of them by the arms and turned them intangible. The building fell through them leaving Phantom, Star and Tucker floating in the air.

"That was close," Tucker said.

"_NO, THIS IS!"_

Phantom spun around and the three found themselves looking into the smoking nostrils of Terrakor.

"I've had just about enough of you!" Phantom shouted. His voice was lower and warped and his glowing green eyes shone through his sunglasses. Phantom tossed Tucker and Star onto Terrakor's snout and flew into the dragon's mouth for the second time.

"What is he doing?" Tucker asked in bewilderment.

""What he does best!" Star shouted back.

An explosion almost caused the two to lose their grip on the dragon's snout. Tucker looked over the tops of the horns and spikes that adorned Terrakor's head to see a green light blast through the dragon's spine. They were showered with black blood.

"I just bought this dress!" Star shrieked. "DAMNIT!"

Tucker watched as a familiar figure floated up through the exit wound. Tucker smirked as he realized that the dragon was done for, but looked on in astonishment as the shadowy figure turned around revealing glowing red eyes.

"What the . . ." Tucker watched as the red eyed figure raised its left arm to stretch across its body. Its hand glowed with green energy. The figure swiped its hand through the air, letting loose a speeding green semicircle of ectoplasmic energy. It sliced through Terrakor's wounded neck, severing the head from the rest of the body. Tucker watched as one of the familiar purple eyes lost its glowing vibrancy. The head slowly slid off the rest of the body and plummeted to the ground. "Dude! Phantom! A little help over here!"

Tucker sighed in relief as the sinister glowing red returned to a friendly green. Phantom swooped in and snatched Tucker and Star off the decapitated head before it splattered to the ground. The three touched down on the sidewalk next to the collapsed clock tower.

"We did it," Phantom said proudly. "We stopped that thing, its over."

Phantom walked over to Sam who was kneeling next to the rubble from the destroyed HQ. He noticed Sam was crying.

"I'm gonna miss it too," Danny said sadly. He had liked the abandoned clock tower, but there would be other places to establish an HQ.

"D-Danny," Sam stuttered. "L-Lancer. He-he-"

"Lancer? What about him?"

Sam lifted a trembling finger to point to a raised section of debris. Phantom could barely see in the darkness, but he managed to make out the head, shoulders and outstretched arms of his favorite teacher. A bloody gash ran down his temple.

"Oh God . . ."

* * *

"This is Lance Thunder reporting from downtown Amity Park. Of course, I'm a weatherman, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm here. Hmm? Oh, anyway, according to several eyewitnesses a mysterious cloaked figure fought off a large dragon last night and the two caused no end of trouble. The old Amity Park Clock Tower was one of the victims of last night's epic battle, although city officials had been planning to demolish it since last summer. 

Sadly, not all casualties were inanimate objects. Lester Lancer, a local English teacher at Casper High School, was critically injured after saving the life of fourteen-year-old Samantha Manson who is a student at Casper High. Mr. Lancer was rushed to the hospital by the same cloaked figure that defeated the dragon. Authorities have yet to release a statement on the matter, but it is widely believed that both combatants were, in fact, ghosts and the public opinion is that the mysterious cloaked ghost is a good guy. Back to you, Tiffany."

The classroom television was shut off. Principal Ishiyama stood in front of the desk where Mr. Lancer would normally sit.

"I'm sure most of you have already heard this news report already, but I felt it was necessary to show it again. This town is no longer the safest place to be and I'm sure many of you have figured that out. The danger of ghosts is now a very real threat. The city chose to pass the meat ghost incident off as a freak occurrence, but it seems that was only the start of a very dangerous path that has been laid out for Amity Park."

One of the students, Danny remembered him as a boy named Mike from his middle school years, raised his hand.

"Yes, Mikey?"

"Is Mr. Lancer ok?"

Miss Ishiyama looked saddened. "He is alive, and for that we should all be thankful." Murmurs of relief passed through the room like whispering spirits. "Then again, I think it would be better if he told you himself."

Every pair of eyes turned to the door as Mr. Lancer entered the room. Every students' mouth dropped slightly. More whispers began to float around the classroom. Mr. Lancer, the incredibly strong yet understanding English teacher they had all grown to look up to rolled into the room in his wheelchair.

"Hello class," he said weakly. A large icepack was wrapped around his head, probably to help with the pain from the gash on his temple. "Don't worry, I'll be going easy on the assignments for the next few weeks, but once I'm free from the narcotics, it's back to work!"

A few nervous chuckles could be heard from random locations in the room.

"Mr. Lancer?" Dash Baxter asked. "How long are you in the chair for?"

Lancer looked down at his legs and sighed. "Unfortunately, for the rest of my life." Almost everyone in the class gasped at the unexpected news. "Don't worry, though, I'll still be helping out with fitness every now and then, but I'm afraid I'll be limited to upper body exercises."

Danny looked at the man in awe. Was the calm exterior just that? Was there resentment hidden beneath it? Danny had to know. He slowly raised his hand.

"Yes, Daniel?"

Danny hesitated. "Do you blame the ghosts for what happened to you?"

Lancer looked at Danny carefully, taking notice of the number of scabs and scars that seemed to have appeared over night. "No, the only one I blame for what happened is myself. The ghost boy saved Mr. Foley, Miss Masters, myself and quite possibly, the entire town."

"How do you know the ghost was a boy?" Paulina interrupted.

"I have my suspicions. In fact, I think the ghost boy is the same one who saved the school from the meat ghost that attacked earlier in the school year." More murmurs passed between the students.

"So you're not mad at the ghost kid?" Danny pressed further. "I mean, isn't he the one who knocked own the clock tower in the first place?"

Lancer shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that Miss Manson is safe and sound and that I still have my life."

Danny cast his eyes downward. Guilt was evident on his face, but nobody took much notice of it. The rest of the last period of the day passed by in a blur. Danny found himself in his room, wondering how he had gotten there. Too tired to care, he flopped down on his bed and let out a loud sigh. That morning had been especially busy, with the public thanks given to himself, Sam, Star and the ghost boy from Mayor Foley, seeing Mr. Lancer in a wheelchair and realizing it was his fault. Danny felt winded. He almost drifted off to sleep when a knock sounded from his door.

"Come in," Danny said lazily.

The door opened and Jack and Maddie Fenton slowly entered the room. "Sweetie, are you feeling alright? You didn't even say hello to us downstairs."

"Is something wrong, son?" Jack asked.

Danny looked at the two of them. The realization that his parents would kill him if they found out about his other half only seemed to worsen his mood.

"Danny, you can tell us anything," Maddie said softly.

Danny took in a deep breath. "Do you both really hate ghosts? Like, hate them with all of your heart and soul?"

Jack and Maddie exchanged bewildered looks. "Where did this come from?" Jack asked concerned.

"Do you?"

There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air. "Danny, we don't hate ghosts. We want to study them, to see what they're like and why they behave the way they do," Jack explained. "We certainly don't love ghosts, since all of them are intrinsically evil, but as long as they don't bother humans, we don't really worry too much."

"What about the ghost kid?"

"He saved Tucker and Mr. Lancer, didn't he?" Maddie asked. "That has to count for something."

"So, all ghosts aren't intrinsically evil?"

"The ghost kid did kill that other ghost when he simply could've incapacitated it," Jack noted. "If the ghost kid isn't bent on evil, he certainly doesn't hold back on violence."

"Danny, is there something you need to tell us? We're your parents, you can trust us."

Danny looked at both of his parents. His inner conflict reached a high point, the epic struggle over whether to not to reveal his ghostly half boiling in his mind.

"I . . ."

Jack and Maddie leaned closer, eager to hear anything their son might reveal to them.

"You know what? It's nothing, really."

Maddie started to push further, but Jack held up a hand. "Danny, you can tell us when you're ready. We're always here to listen."

Danny smiled and hugged both of them. "Thanks. For everything."

"No problem, kiddo! Now, let's get downstairs to the kitchen! Your mother's been baking cookies like a madwoman all morning!"

The two raced down the stairs leaving Maddie alone in Danny's room. She smiled and glanced around her son's lair. It was filthy, as to be expected, of course that was no excuse to leave his closet door open. She glanced inside and stopped. Hanging from a hangar amidst pairs of jeans and tee shirts was a large black trench coat. On the floor was a Fenton Fisher, the normally luminescent blue line was mostly coated in some slick black liquid and next to that was a pair of ecto-SMG's. The ammo counters on each read _empty_. On the top shelf sat a Fenton Thermos that read _occupied_. Maddie slowly shut the door and crept from the room. She was beginning to think her son and the ghost boy were closer than she thought. It would be a good long time before she discovered just _how_ close they really were.

To Be Continued

_A/N- Ok, this is the last update this week, even though there's only one day left. So, I hope you liked it. I felt it was necessary to cripple Lancer to give Danny a sense of realization that his powers are as much of a curse as they are a gift. I didn't want to kill him because I still have plans for him in the future. In case you were wondering, Terrakor is actually a fusion of Dora and the Prince guy (Aragorn?). I thought the fact that Dora had a brother was kinda stupid, but his dragon form was, like, so totally l33t. Don't worry though, if you liked Danny decked down in shining armor, you'll still get your midevial goodness, but not now. Next chapter features everyone's favorite flaming-haired musician and unlikely plot devices and pairings. With fifty+ reviews and under twenty chapters, this story's continuation is looking very good. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed and sent e-mails. Special thanks goes out to _leadfoot352, Ant Crown, HiddenAuthor _(I found you! Ok, I'm done with the lame username puns)_, TDG3RD _and_ Pterodactyl. _Until next time,_

_**EXCELSIOR!**_


	11. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 1

Chapter XIX

Hearts, Heroes and Harlots

"Ok guys, as soon as you see me come around the corner, open fire with every weapon you can find!"

Sam and Tucker exchanged worried looks at the bizarre request that was given to them. "Uh, wouldn't we hit you?" Tucker asked.

"Trust me," came the static filled response. "Now get ready! He's right on my tail!"

Sam and Tucker waited. Seconds seemed to pass by in years. Sweat began to trickle down their faces. Suddenly, a flash of black and white shot out from behind a rock. The two teenagers did as they were told and fired every conceivable weapon that had been placed into the Specter Speeder. Laser weapons and missile launchers of all shapes and sized appeared from the glossy silver surface of the craft and fired simultaneously at the spot where the black and white flash had passed by.

An explosion rocked the vehicle and a howl of pain tore through the air.

"HA! You got him," said the voice through the radio.

"Did we?" Sam asked. "I can't see through all this smoke."

In front of the speeder appeared a familiar figure in a black jumpsuit. A mop of snowy white hair adorned his head. He spun about in midair to reveal a boyish grin and a pair of neon green eyes that glowed vibrantly.

"Oh, you got him alright," Phantom said. "I don't think he'll be bothering us for a while."

The dust from the blasts cleared and revealed a bipedal figure wrapped in a heavy fur jacket. In place of its left hand was a massive crab claw. Messy red hair fell over its face, which sported a number of scars and deformities. The right hand appeared normal, although it was a deathly black color, like that of frostbite.

"This Klemper guy," Phantom said as he fazed into the Specter Speeder. "He grabs you until you can't breathe! And if he can't catch you, he tries to freeze you!"

"He looks really creepy," Sam noted.

"Oh, that's just because you tore open his abdomen," Phantom explained. "It'll heal up. I think."

"So, did you get the data?" Tucker asked eagerly.

Phantom held up a PDA. "Yes I did. I recorded everything I could before Klemper showed up. I'm pretty sure I got at least most of the stuff I needed."

Tucker snatched the PDA away from the ghost boy and examined it closely. "Well, it isn't broken. Good job. Now, let's get this data back to my house so we can add it to our map."

"I hear ya," Phantom said. The ghost closed his eyes and a silver, green tinted ring appeared around his waist. It split in two and each half went in opposite directions, traveling the length of his body. Phantom was sealed away, hidden behind the molecular structure of none other than Danny Fenton, a supposedly normal human teenager. "And after we add to our map, we can hit the Nasty Burger. I'm starved." Danny hugged himself. "Not to mention freezing."

"You know," Tucker said from the pilot's seat. "If your hands are cold, the best remedy is to clasp them together and put them between someone's thighs. Lucky for you, Sam wore a skirt today-"

"TUCKER!" Danny and Sam shouted. The two looked at each other and blushed.

The techno-savvy teen laughed. "You know, if you didn't have feelings for each other, neither of you would be so defensive about anything I said. You could just laugh it off like I do!"

"Well, since you and Star just kinda disappeared after my New Years party, I guess we're not the ones with _feelings_ to hide," Sam said, forming air quotes with her fingers for the word feelings.

Tucker laughed again. "She went home and I was up in the kitchen with your dad making pizza. Even if it was as you saw it, I wouldn't be embarrassed. I would proclaim my love, unlike you two-"

Danny grabbed the steering controls and yanked them to the side, allowing the Specter Speeder to swerve away from a randomly floating boulder.

"Just shut up and drive," Danny muttered.

Tucker grinned and piloted the craft to the Fenton Portal without another word.

* * *

"Well class," said Mr. Lancer. "I hope you all learned something from this story." The teacher laid the story _Romeo and Juliet_ on his desk with a fond smile. "For tomorrow, I want you to write me a brief summary of how you think love played an important role in the story." 

The assignment caused everyone in the class to groan with disappointment.

"Well, I can make it a several-page essay instead," the teacher offered. Nobody even coughed. "Alright then. We still have a few minutes left, so let me ask you all something," the teacher reached under his desk and pulled out what looked like a blue furry animal. He placed it on his head and straightened it out, revealing its true form. It was a wig. "Who's going to see Ember McLain's concert on Saturday?"

The class laughed at the wig on Mr. Lancer's head, but gave their enthusiastic responses. Some carried disappointment, since they wouldn't be attending.

Danny, who had been asleep for the last several minutes groggily lifted his head from his desk. "Who?" he asked.

"_Revenge of the Sith_, do you sleep during important events _at home_ too, Fenton?" Lancer asked incredulously.

"I've been busy with other things," Danny mumbled.

"Well, who would like to fill in our good friend Daniel on the much-needed information on the world's newest pop-diva?"

Paulina Sanchez waved her arm in the air frantically. Mr. Lancer nodded in her direction and the Hispanic girl stood from her seat, clearly wanting to show off her prized Fleecy Tee. The story was that she had fought another girl for the last size small Amity Park Mall was carrying and won; of course the public opinion was that her father bought it for her before the shirt was even on the market. Most people believed the public opinion.

"Ember is, like, only the most fabulous thing to happen to the world since, well, me! She can sing and dance and has really cool blue hair. And, she's coming here!" Her excitement prompted the other girls in the class to giggle with anticipation. "Seriously, Fenton, you haven't heard of her?"

"I have more important things to worry about than some punk trying to make it big in the music industry," Danny snapped. "She'll be off the top ten in a few weeks and you'll all be saying 'Ember who?'"

"You're such a pessimist, Fenton," Paulina sighed.

"No, I'm a realist. As in, I realize that this Ember character isn't worth my time! And neither are you!"

"Mr. Fenton, that will be quite enough," Mr. Lancer said from his desk. "You may be testy from a lack of sleep, but that is no excuse to take your aggression out on fellow students."

"That doesn't stop Dash from shoving me into lockers," Danny muttered under his breath.

"Relax, dude," Tucker said from his seat next to him. "I didn't find out about Ember until last week. She hasn't really been around that long."

"Yeah, well, they treat me like it's a criminal offense to not know about every new, cool thing."

"Just take it all in stride. They'll thank you for doing it later."

Danny yawned. "I guess they will."

To Be Continued

_A/N- Hope it wasn't too long a wait, but I just had a massive allergy attack and almost died from coughing and swallowing mucus. I'm feeling a bit better, and I have a few chapters done already, but I have a paper due in two weeks and I need to get working on that, so updates might noe be so frequent. So, I'm feeling pretty good right now due to the 60+ reviews and I thank all my reviewers. Special thanks goes out to _HiddenAuthor, Ant Crown, lightanddarklove, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, darkbunny92, _and super special thanks goes out to _doc.exe_ for the pointers. _

**ONWARD TO VICTORY!**


	12. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 2

Chapter XX

"Thanks Fen-tonio! You gave me a reason to shove you into your locker today!" Dash announced gleefully. "And to think I was gonna let you off with a freebee."

Danny groaned as Dash picked him up by the back of his shirt and held him in front of an open locker.

"Why do you even care that I wasn't humble and respectful to Paulina?" Danny questioned. "She doesn't even like you!"

"Well, when she sees that I'm avenging her, she will."

"You make it sound like I murdered the girl!"

"Hey, your little girlfriend might be a girl, but Paulina is a _woman_, and don't you forget it!"

"What? What don't you want me to forget, that you're a woman? I'm terribly sorry, here; let me give you my coat, its very cold today."

The students hearing the insult burst into laughter. Dash's face reddened. "Wrong answer, wimp!"

"Dash! What the heck are you doing?" came an unexpected voice.

Danny and Dash turned their attention to the end of the hall where a distraught Paulina was angrily making her way over. "Put him down this instant!"

Dash dropped the scrawnier boy at the command. "But he yelled at you! I was just getting him back!"

"Dash, what kind of person would I be if bullies just went around terrorizing every single person who, for some reason, doesn't like me? I'll tell you. That would make me a terrorizer!"

"Terrorist," Danny mumbled from his wonderful vantage point on the ground.

"'Scuse me?" Paulina asked politely.

"It would make you a terrorist, terrorizer isn't a word."

"Well, thank you very much. I didn't know that," the girl said kindly. She turned her attention to Dash, he face hardening. "Why can't you be smart like him?"

"Aw man, I'm so confused!" Dash cried. He ran down the hall clutching his head.

"I am too," Danny said. He was still sitting on the ground. "I yelled at you. Why are you being all nice and stuff?"

"I wanted to apologize for putting pressure on you earlier," she said quietly. "I mean, I guess it makes sense that busy people wouldn't know about Ember. I mean, she's just getting started and stuff."

"Wow, thanks! I guess I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I haven't been getting much sleep lately, so-"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I get cranky too when I don't get my beauty sleep."

"Well," Danny said as he stood from the floor. "I better be off then."

"Oh, before you go, I just wanted to ask you something. Do you know anything about the ghost boy?"

Danny froze. "T-the ghost boy?"

"Yeah, the one who saved the school and Mr. Lancer? I was just wondering if you knew him."

"Oh," Danny said. He visibly relaxed. "Well, no, not really. I mean, sorta, but, you know, not really well."

"Oh, ok. Just checking. If you do find something out about him, would you tell me?"

Danny sighed, but put on a smile despite himself. "Of course."

"Ok, thanks Danny!"

Paulina skipped away happily; humming some tune that Danny figured was something the Ember lady had concocted. He gathered his things and left the school. How like Paulina to be nice in order to get something. Danny was coming to believe that there was no help for the shallow girls.

Danny kept walking, but stopped abruptly. He exhaled sharply as a familiar green mist streamed from his nostrils. The boy squinted his eyes and looked around. A large truck came into view with the word EMBER painted in bold blue letters on the side. The truck came to a halt just in front of the school and the sides of the large cargo section fell open to reveal a band, set up and ready to perform. On center stage was a young woman with flaming blue hair. Danny had a pretty good view of the scene unfolding before him and quickly came to several realizations. Ember had long, pointed ears. Ember had sharp fangs. Ember's flaming hair was not the result of mirrors and smoke.

"Oh man," Danny said. "I just find out about the world's greatest musical joy and it just so happens that she's a ghost. Somehow, I'm not surprised."

Danny ran behind a nearby tree and changed into his ghost form. Turning invisible, he flew out from behind his cover and moved in closer. The woman's skin was tinged a very light blue color as Danny could see and a wicked grin was plastered on her face.

"Hello Casper High!" she shouted. The students on the school grounds dropped whatever they were doing and rushed over to the truck. "Tell me who you love!"

The massive crowd began cheering EMBER. At first it was quiet and subdued, but it quickly grew into a roar of adoration. Danny noticed that Ember's hair flared up at each mention of her name.

"I'd like to give you all a little demo for my concert this weekend!"

That prompted the crowd to grow louder.

The woman reached for her microphone, only to find that it wasn't there. She frantically looked around to see if one of her adoring fans had taken it. The chanting began to die down and Ember's hair lost is vigor.

From his vantage point up in the air, Danny watched the reaction of the ghost as her beloved audience failed to chant her name. Ember turned a dial on her guitar and strung a chord, sending a wave of energy over the angry crowd. They appeared hypnotized and, taking advantage of the distraction, Ember's truck reassembled itself and sped away. Danny regained visibility and looked at the microphone in his hand, frowning at the device.

"So," Danny searched his vocabulary for something insultingly simplistic. "Uncivilized."

He tossed the microphone to the ground and flew away in the direction of his home. Unbeknownst to him, another pair of green eyes had been observing the entire spectacle, eager to see how the events would play out.

To Be Continued

_A/N- Alright, its a short chapter. Every story has them. Then again, the next chapter reveals Ultimate Ember's personality. It ain't pretty. Danny's in for the shock of his life, and he meets up with a familiar face. BTW, I hope you liked my rendition of Klemper. I thought giving him a crab claw to "clamp" onto people with would be appropriate and I made his freezing powers come from his black hand. The fur coat was to accentuate the fact that he's a cold mofo. Anywho, thanks to all my reviewers, especially _HiddenAuthor, TDG3RD _and_ Sapphire Wolf Master._ Shank you._


	13. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 3

Chapter XXI

"I'm telling you guys, Ember's a ghost!" Danny cried. Sam and Tucker exchanged skeptical looks before returning to their game. There's no time for breaks during an after school slayer match in Halo 2. "Do you guys even care?"

"Danny, we know you got some slack because of her," Sam said as she stabbed Tucker's character with an energy sword. "But that's no reason to make false accusations."

"So damn cheap," Tucker muttered as his player flew off the side of the map and fell into the snowy abyss. "Anyway, maybe you should try to get more solid evidence. People will be inclined not to believe you unless you can prove something."

"Like the existence of Tucker's ability to win!" Sam said cheerfully as she lunged at said boy's character again.

Tucker smiled and, with perfect timing, blasted Sam's character in the face with a shotgun blast sending her body and weapons careening over the edge of the walkway. "Uh-oh, looks like we found it!" Tucker taunted. Sam snorted in disgust and focused on the game.

"So you want me to prove that Ember's a ghost?" Danny asked.

"No, we want you to forget all about it," Tucker replied sarcastically. "Just forget about everything, you know, the Ghost Zone, that Skullter person, the squid, the Tear-a-whore dragon, Klamper, even yourself. Just let it all go. Live a normal life, fall in love, get married, have kids and live happily ever after. With Sam. And no ghosts."

Danny slapped the red hat off the boy's head, causing him to prematurely jump at a ledge and fall to his death.

"You know what? I will prove it. But if I can't stop her, then you're all screwed because God knows my parents won't ever figure it out." Danny stood from his bed and concentrated on the ghostly energies that lay hidden in his molecular structure. A silver-green ring formed at his waist and split in two, covering the expanse of his body. His baggy jeans and loose white tee shirt was replaced by a black hazmat suit with white lining around the neck. White boots and gloves covered his feet and hands respectively and a white waist strap appeared around his midsection.

His skin took a paler tint and his black hair was changed into pure white. His deep blue eyes changed to vibrant neon green and a grin appeared on his face.

"Loser has to clean up," Phantom said before he fazed through the roof.

Sam and Tucker looked at the spot where he had been floating in distress. They then examined his room. Scattered about was a wide assortment of comics, games, papers, music CD's, bags of junk food and candy bar wrappers. The desks and nightstands were covered in soda cans.

"There is no way I'm cleaning this mess," Sam announced.

"BOOYEAH!" Tucker shouted.

Sam clamped her hand over her ear, which was ringing. "I'm right next to, nitwit! You don't have to yell!"

"Sorry, but did you see that? I just totally owned you!"

"I don't know, Tucker, you clearly have a better view of _my_ screen than you do of your_ own_."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to look at your screen while you're cleaning up."

A deep voice came over the speakers and said "GAME OVER". Tucker set his controller down and stood with a smile. The Post Game Carnage report showed the scores of both players. TooFine1337 came in first with twenty-five kills. GothPrincess666 came in second with twenty four.

"Dude, sweet! I got twenty medals!" Tucker cheered.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Just get out of here before I decide to take _you_ out along with the trash."

Tucker removed his hat and scratched his head. "You think Ember could really be a ghost?" he asked while placing his hat back on his head. "I mean, it seems possible. Gaining public appraisal would be a good first step for world domination."

"Tucker, you know as well as I do that Danny's been paranoid about ghosts ever since you were possessed."

"Overshadowed," the boy corrected. "Possessed is with demons."

"Whatever," Sam said exasperatedly. She pulled a garbage bag out from underneath Danny's bed and began shoving garbage into it. "He's probably blowing things out of proportion. Some cheap light trick must have spooked him."

"Yeah, right," Tucker replied sarcastically. "Danny has better eyesight than a hawk. He wouldn't miss something like that."

"Tucker, are you taking his side?"

"He is my best friend. I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Ember can't be a ghost! She has a legitimate record deal and all that stuff! She isn't just some overnight superstar."

"Sam, search your feelings, something isn't right here."

"Oh, sorry Obi-Wan. My thoughts were elsewhere," Sam rolled her eyes. "I don't believe it. If you want to, then by all means, go ahead. Me? I'll stay sane."

Tucker shook his head. "Sam, if you ever want Danny to like realize that he likes you the way you like him, you need to understand his concerns. He's worried about us."

"That's no excuse to believe every ridiculous story he comes up with. Remember when he thought the second floor bathroom was haunted?"

"That was for two days. There was a darn good reason to believe it was. The burritos we had that week were as painful going in as they were coming out. My point is, don't be so quick to dismiss all of his supposedly erroneous claims."

Tucker exited the room leaving Sam to the rest of her cleaning and her thoughts. Maybe Tucker was right. Maybe Danny was right. She decided to look into it later. After her best friend's room was clean.

* * *

"Uh, You there! Citizen!" Phantom called out to a man in a suit. He turned around and stared in shock that the teenaged specter floating in the air. "Have you seen a large truck with the word EMBER on it?" The man nodded shakily and pointed down the street. The road ended at the pier which was lined with warehouses. "Thank you citizen. Uh, carry on." 

The man hurried away as Danny flew towards the pier, scanning the area from his vantage point in the sky. He saw dozens of trucks around the multitude of warehouses. It could take forever to find the truck. Fortunately, he stumbled upon the correct warehouse in a matter of minutes. It was elaborately decorated in Ember McLain merchandise and the truck Danny had seen earlier was parked outside.

"Bingo," Danny said as he flew down at the roof. He fazed through it and became invisible, quickly looking around as he descended from the ceiling. His target was standing in the center of the warehouse and was holding a man at least a head taller than she was by the throat. The man was bulky and muscular. He was dressed in overalls and wore a simple tee shirt beneath. Shoulder length hair flowed from his head and he wore a hat on his head that matched the color of his overalls. Danny noticed that his skin was a ghostly shade of blue.

"For the last time, Box Ghost," Ember said. Anger was apparent in her voice. "Stay out of my way."

"You still refuse my offer?" the ghost replied in a fake tone of shock. "Very well," he said sardonically.

Boxes that lined the walls came to life and swirled around the two ghosts. The man flew back and summoned several of the cubical containers to himself. Ember sent a blue fireball from her hair at the ghost, but he simply opened a box and the fireball disappeared inside. Another box flew up to Ember and opened, releasing the fireball she had fired. It hit her in the face and sent her flipping backwards. A large box intercepted and sealed her inside. A different box floated up to the Box Ghost and he peered into it. Ember glared out at him.

"How pathetic," the Box Ghost said with a yawn. "Very well, I hope you are successful in your campaign. Packing costs are just insane nowadays."

He snapped his fingers and the boxes flew back to their spots against the wall. One of the larger ones remained behind. It opened and the Box Ghost hopped inside. He waved at Ember before sinking into it. The woman sent her flaming hair at the box, incinerating it. The ashes revealed no trace of the irksome specter.

"Damn him," Ember hissed. "I need a body guard."

Danny was in awe. Whoever that Box Ghost was, he was definitely someone to avoid. Maybe even befriend, if that was possible. Danny looked down again and saw Ember sitting on a large cushioned chair. Danny reached around and felt his backpack which he had grabbed from the OP Center on his way over. He pulled out the camera he had placed inside and began to record, hoping something else ghostly would happen.

"Ember!" said a voice. It was laced with irritation. "We have caught a human meddler. She was hiding in the ventilation ducts. I believe she witnessed your bout with the Box Ghost."

A ghost wearing black jean shorts and a black tee shirt with a big blue **E** on the front floated into the room carrying a girl. Danny didn't recognize her. Ember grabbed the girl by the neck and tore her out of the other ghost's grasp. The young woman gasped and struggled to inhale despite the ghost's iron grip.

"What were you doing in my warehouse?" Ember bellowed.

"I-I was tr-trying t-t-to s-s-s-s-see you!" the girl choked out.

"Well, now you did," Ember replied. She grabbed the girl by her wrist and held her in the air. She flashed a toothy grin, revealing her vampire-like incisors. "I'm going to enjoy this," she said softly. Ember slowly opened her mouth, letting her long forked tongue slither out. She looked the girl in the eyes before she lunged forward and sunk her fangs into her neck. The girl cried out as Ember yanked her head back and tore out her throat. Blood splattered the floor. Ember spat the chunk of flesh onto the ground and wiped some of the blood from her teeth with her tongue.

"Clean that up," she motioned to the girl and the large pool of blood that was forming around her head. Two ghosts flew over and began to scrub the floor while a third hauled the body away. Ember turned intangible and let any blood that remained on her fall through her body and to the floor.

"I have a concert on Saturday," she growled at her servants. "Make sure we don't have any more intrusions." Ember's hair wrapped around her body. She disappeared in a blue wisp of flame.

Danny floated in the air. He was shaking slightly, but his grip on the camera was firm. Sure, he had killed two ghosts so far, but he had never killed a human. He hadn't ever seen a human killed before. Movies were a different story entirely. Danny replayed the footage, glad that he got everything, but at the same time disgusted. It was a terrible thing to witness and he would have nightmares for months. He quickly spun around and flew out of the building. He had to get the footage to his friends, the government, the _world_. Everyone had to know who their precious superstar really was.

It was five minutes before Danny stopped flying and fell to a rooftop in tears. He didn't even bother to get up, he just lay there crying. A horrible realization had come over him. He could have stopped Ember. He could've saved that girl's life. Two people had suffered by his hand now. One would never walk again, but the other would never live again. He cursed himself at his own ineptitude. How could he have zoned out like that? He might not have been able to beat Ember, but he could have given that girl a chance to escape. But he didn't. He just floated there like an observant.

"I guess it's always harder for the hero, isn't it?" said a voice.

Danny didn't even look up as the green mist emerged from his nose. He knew who that voice belonged to, although he had only heard it for the first time earlier that evening.

"I feel kinda sorry for her," the Box Ghost mused. "Then again, I feel sorry for all humans who follow that witch."

"Why did you want to help her?" Danny asked through muffled sobs.

"It had something to do with boxes. You _were_ watching that little fight weren't you? Boxes are my thing. It's who I am."

"Great. Now I just need to figure out who I am."

"Well, that's simple enough," the Box ghost said. He pulled a toothpick from his pocket and stuck it in his mouth. "You're a hero, doing what you think is right. It's your thing. It's who _you_ are."

Danny got up off the ground and looked at the ghost. He looked like a man in his thirties, although the ghost could've been hundreds of years old.

"I guess so."

The Box Ghost smiled at Danny. "The life you've chosen is going to be difficult. You have to realize that you can't save everyone."

"I should, though. I should be able to."

"Think of it this way. If Ember didn't kill that girl, you wouldn't have your bit of video footage there. I'm guessing you're going to show the world that she's a murderous bitch?"

"Yup."

"Good man," the Box Ghost said. "Well, best of luck. I'll just be going now."

He floated off the roof and hovered in the air.

"BEWARE!" he shouted before he was enveloped by an ectoplasmic box and disappeared.

Danny grinned, wiping tears off his face. The Box Ghost presented a powerful argument. That girl's death had given him a weapon to fight Ember with. She wasn't going to take over earth while he was alive. Well, half alive. Still, that didn't make her death ok, but Danny vowed to avenge her. He would be victorious.

To Be Continued

_A/N- I hope you're all still with me after that bit of gory goodness. I don't want to chase people away with content, but it is necessary. Ember's a very different ghost this time around. She's not just set on taking over the world with music. She's smarter and a helluva lot more ruthless, although Danny won't have to feel what her iron grip is like. And hey! How about the Box Ghost? Sounds pretty formidible, huh? I know. The true master of the boxes is here! Anywho, I thank all my reviewers, especially _leadfoot352, Celestial Maiden Sukira, PhantomsAngelS2, Pieling, slyfoxx, and HiddenAuthor.

**May the Force be with you all.**


	14. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 4

Chapter XXII

Tucker and Sam sat motionless on the ground as the final seconds of Danny's film flashed before their eyes. They eyes were glued to the television screen, which was showing Ember disappear in a flash of blue. Slowly, they both turned their heads to the ghost boy who was hovering behind them.

"Wow," Tucker said at last. "Sorry we didn't believe you."

"It wouldn't have made any difference if you had," Phantom replied sternly. "We need to get this footage to the police."

"Forget the police," Sam said, standing to her feet. "Plug your camera into your computer. We'll put this on the internet and then we'll take it to a news station."

Tucker grabbed the camera and unplugged it from the television. He connected it to Danny's computer and began to upload the footage. Phantom began pacing the floor.

"The news stations might think its doctored or something," he said.

"Well, the internet is our fallback if the news channels won't take it," Tucker announced from Danny's chair. "I've uploaded it on a few video sites. Plenty of people will see it."

"Alright, now we need to find a news station," Phantom said.

"Why not our local station?" Sam offered. "That's a good place to start."

Phantom stopped pacing. "I guess. I mean, it's not like we can go to New York and give it to the people on Good Morning America."

Tucker laughed. "True, true. Well, we better get going if we want it to be on the ten o'clock news."

Phantom took the camera from his desk and placed it in his backpack. Sam and Tucker held on to an arm and Phantom floated up through his ceiling and out of Fenton Works. They flew through the town, passing buildings and soaring over roads. It wasn't long before the large building came into view. Broadcasting satellites were mounted on the sides and roof of the building.

"Here we are," Tucker said. "Channel Five Action News, with the beautiful Tiffany Snow and the multi-tasking weather man, Lance Thunder. Founded in-"

"Tucker, can it. We have serious things to worry about," Phantom said. Suddenly, a green mist escaped his nose, causing him to wobble in the air, much to the dismay of his friends.

"Dude," Tucker shouted. "There are other people up here! People who can't fly!"

"You won't live long enough to worry about that," said an icy voice from behind the trio.

Phantom spun around and the three came face to face with Ember McLain. "What do you want, murderer?"

"The tape you have of the little mess I made in my warehouse. Give it to me and I might just let you all live."

"I wish I could, but there's a _might_ in your sentence. And I don't bargain with killers." Danny pumped his arms down, sending them towards the ground with Tucker and Sam attached. They fell the distance of one hundred and fifty feet in only seconds and turned intangible, slipping away from the frightened humans who were grabbing them. The arms returned to Danny and he lunged forward at Ember, who slid out of the way. Danny's punch missed his target, but he used the momentum to spin around and fire a blast of ectoplasm out of his outstretched fist. The ray hit Ember in the stomach and she doubled over in pain. "Wow. I just hit a girl," he mumbled. "Some hero I am."

"You're not going to be a hero much longer," Ember growled. Her eyes glowed a vibrant pinkish red as she sent her flaming hair at him. Danny back flipped out of the way and countered with his own blasts, which were also dodged. Ember held her arm out and a large, spiked guitar appeared in her hand. She held it and rested her hand on a dial. "So, what does the little punk like to listen to? Is he emo?"

"Hey, just because I wear black doesn't make me emo. Black is very in now," Danny complained.

Ember ignored him and strung a chord, sending pink blasts of energy at him. Danny noticed that the head of the blasts were shaped like blades, but was unable to pick out any more details as the two blasts tore past his wrists, cutting them perpendicular to the base of his palm.

"OW! That hurt!" Danny held up his hands and examined his wrists, which were leaking green ectoplasm. He concentrated and the wounds healed, although it was slower than he would've liked.

"I see that didn't work. Maybe you prefer rock?" Ember turned the dial and struck another chord, sending two massive rock-shaped blasts at him. Danny dodged the first one, but the second was too close. In desperation, Phantom grabbed the rock with his hands and swung it around. He let it go and it soared back at Ember, who absorbed it into her palm.

"Don't you _like_ music?" She asked mockingly.

"I prefer light classical, although it would seem you like the _Blues_ yourself."

Ember's eyes flared and she flew at Danny, grabbing him by the neck before he could react. She spun around and tossed him at a nearby building. He crashed into the wall, sending chunks of brick and mortar falling to the ground. Ember wasted no time pinning him to the wall, crushing him under her surprising strength.

"Get off of me!" He cried, struggling to free himself.

"Why would you want me to do that?" she asked. Her tone had become soft, almost seductively so. Ember leaned towards Danny, allowing her voluptuous chest to rub against his face. "You seem to be liking this," Ember moaned and Danny stopped moving at all. She giggled. "_A lot_. How about I play a special song for you?"

Ember hovered back and turned the dial on her guitar to a heart. She strung a chord and a pink blast slammed into Danny's dazed figure. Small heart shapes passed into his body and he struggled against the overwhelming feeling they were forcing into his mind. He lost.

Phantom slid from the wall and plummeted to the ground. He collided with the street leaving a small crater in his wake. Sam, who had taken the camera from Phantom's backpack when Ember showed up, and Tucker ran over to the crater. Danny's upper body was bare, as the upper half of his jumpsuit had been disintegrated.

"Danny! Are you ok?" Sam cried out.

Phantom pulled himself to his hands and knees. He lazily raised his head and the two teenagers could see a goofy grin plastered on his face. He turned to face Ember, who was smiling wickedly at him.

"Ember . . ." Phantom said longingly.

Tucker's eyes widened. He slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh snap."

To Be Continued

_A/N- Uh-oh, did I just make Danny fall in love with Ember? Yeah, I guess I did. I bet you're thinking_ "How can he do that to poor little Sam?" _Well, she gets some help from a very concerned ghost. No, not that one you dingbat, the other one. Yeah, that one. OH! And do I detect a costume change? Phantom certainly can't be flying about with his shirt off, although I think the ladies would be most pleased. So yeah, I get home from school and I'm like _"Holy catsauce!" _I've got almost 80 reviews! Its pandamonium in the streets! So, I want to thank all my reviewers, especially_ Sapphire Wolf Master, TDG3RD, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Pieling, Anonymous Reader13 _and_ HiddenAuthor. THANK YEAU.

_P.S.- Holy Catsauce is a trademarked saying of me, Grumbles. You can use it if you ever need to, but I want credit._


	15. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 5

Chapter XXIII

"Tucker, our best friend is being held against his will by a ghost and you want to drink?"

Tucker looked from the doors of the Nasty Burger to Sam. "Sam, right now, there's nothing we can do. It would be logical to formulate a plan of action; something I cannot do without proper sustenance. Like an extra large Wild Cherry Pepsi!"

Sam shook her head. "Sometimes I don't understand you, Tucker."

The two entered the fast food establishment. Sam took a seat at their usual table while Tucker went off to order his drink. He returned with a smile on his face, happily sipping the sugary beverage through his straw.

"You know, if you drink too much sugar you're going to get diabetes," the girl commented.

Tucker frowned. "I come from two families with no history of diabetic problems. My great grandfather ate something sugary before, during and after every meal. My uncle, God bless his soul, loved sugary sweets almost as much as he loved technology. Neither of them contracted it."

"Still, it's bad for you."

"And I don't really care. Especially not now. Danny's in trouble, and we need to save him." Tucker took a long sip from his drink. "As soon as I get back from the restroom."

"Hurry up!" Sam called after him as the boy ran for the men's room.

Tucker ignored her and slipped through the door. The restroom was unoccupied, but Tucker was a very self-conscious person, so he slid into a stall and shut the door behind him. After relieving himself, Tucker turned around and opened the door and came face to face with a robot with glowing green eyes.

"Hello child," the robot said. "I'm afraid I cannot let you go back out to meet with Samantha."

"Wh-who are you?"

"Introductions? If you insist. I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary," the robot proclaimed. "You are Tucker Foley, son of the mayor of this town and friend of Phantom, the half ghost child."

"H-how do you know about Danny?"

"I helped in securing your freedom. Without me, you would be dead."

Tucker stared at Skulker in fear. He was thankful he had just used the restroom, otherwise he would've wet his pants. "What do you want now?"

"I need you out of the way while I deal with matters that do not concern you."

"You're going to k-kill me?" Tucker squeaked.

"No, no, you are too important to Phantom. You must remain alive. However, it would do nobody harm if you were incapacitated for several days time."

"What? Wait!"

Skulker lifted his arm and a small red beam shot from his palm. It hit Tucker in his head and the boy fell to the ground. "I didn't even wash my hands!"

Skulker snorted and hefted the boy over his shoulder. Turning invisible, he flew out of the building. "You enjoy reading, do you not?"

Tucker was unable to respond as the neural paralysis ray had taken effect. Skulker grinned, pleased that his invention had worked. The ghost flew to the public library and set Tucker down inside on the second floor. The boy was laid on the floor in the loneliest corner of the building. Books covered in dust lined the walls, their titles hidden under the stuff or lost to time.

"Try not to make too much noise," Skulker said with a grin. With that, he flew out of the building and made his way back to the Nasty Burger. He had other plans for Phantom's mate.

* * *

"So," Ember said as Danny floated in front of her with a goofy grin on his face. "You will follow my commands until the end of time? You will assist me in taking over this planet?" 

Danny's grin grew into a smile. "Uh-huh," he said lazily.

Ember smiled. "Good boy. Now, we can't have you flying around without a shirt on. You're cute and all, but you need to be decent."

Danny blushed at the compliment and nodded in agreement.

"I don't think I have any extra clothes that you could wear . . ."

"I have something!" Danny exclaimed. "At my house, I have something I can use."

"Well, go get it," Ember said.

Danny frowned. "I have to leave you? Can't you come with me?"

"I need to stay here," Ember explained.

"_PLEASE?_"

Ember floated up off the ground and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "There's more where _that_ came from," she whispered into his ear, "if you do what I tell you."

Danny's eyes widened in delight and he flew out of the warehouse at breakneck speed. Ember smiled, but her expression quickly became a scowl. It was nice to have someone love her, even if it was false, but the intensity was a bit strong for her tastes. If she was ever forced to use her love spell again, she would make sure that problem was fixed.

Ember paced the floor for barely two minutes when Danny fazed into the warehouse, holding something in his hand. "I'm back!" he said loudly. "And I got something for me to wear."

Danny quickly slipped the white spandex shirt over his head and stuck his arms through the long sleeves. He slipped on the pair of black gloves over his hands and beamed at Ember, hoping for some sort of approval.

"What is _that_?" she asked.

"A shirt," Danny explained. "You wanted me to get it because you said-"

"I know what it is," she snapped. "I meant what is it _made of_?"

"Spandex, I think," Danny said as he pulled at the black glove on his hand. It slipped out of his fingers and slapped against his hand. "Ow! Uh, yeah, probably spandex. Why?"

"It's so . . . so _tacky_," Ember cringed as she rubbed her hand against it, hearing the squeak as he hand passed over the material. Danny frowned. "Well, tacky is ok. For now. So, your first order of business as my loyal servant is to patrol this building. Make sure no humans come in."

Danny frowned again. His face was getting quite the workout. "Can't you send one of your goons out to patrol the building? I want to be with _you_."

Ember slapped her forehead. She considered just getting rid of the love spell altogether. "Look, do you want me to take over the world or not?"

"Yes."

"Then you want my concert to go off without a hitch, right?"

"Right."

"That means you want this building to be human free. Because if someone pokes around here and finds out that I'm a ghost, I'll be finished. Now, since you're going to be emperor of my regime, alongside myself, there can be no intrusions. Understand?"

"If you want to eventually become empress of the planet, you need competent guards. Send them out so they can get better and we can be together!"

Ember sighed. There would be no arguing with this one. She thought about smashing her guitar over the ghost boy's head. If it didn't kill him, the spell would at least be broken. "Fine," she growled. "Spiky!"

A ghost with spiked hair appeared in front of her. He wore black jeans, a black shirt with a blue E on the front and sunglasses. "Yes?"

"Patrol the building. You know the punishment for failure."

"As you command." The ghost said as it went to carry out its orders.

"So," Ember said. She never had to entertain a love spell before. Usually the victim would follow orders until they were disposed of. This one seemed to be more focused on the love than the obeying. She thought about what most kids would do on dates. "You like movies?"

* * *

"Damn it, Tucker," Sam mumbled. She looked at her watch, which displayed 10:30. Tucker had been in the restroom for nearly twenty minutes. She stood from her booth and stormed over to the door. Nobody was paying any attention, as there were only two other people in the building and they seemed more intent on swallowing each other's heads than paying attention to a girl walking towards the men's room. Sam pushed open the door, but saw nobody. "Tucker?" Sam asked, hoping for a response. 

"You won't find your friend here," said a deep voice.

Sam spun around to find Skulker standing behind her. "You!" She almost shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Believe it or not, I require you help. A ghost by the name of Ember McLain has taken possession of your mate-"

"My WHAT?" Sam didn't refrain from shouting. The few people in the Nasty Burger looked from what they were doing and fled in panic at the sight of Skulker. "I do not have a mate!"

"Oh? I assumed you and the ghost child-"

"He's not my mate," Sam said sadly.

Skulker cocked his head to the side. "I was almost positive . . ." He shook his head, pushing it aside. "Ember cannot be allowed to keep him."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I plan on breaking her spell. However, I cannot do it alone. I require help."

"And you need me?"

"The ghost child may not fully comprehend his own feelings, but it is probable that his is attracted to you. You are both of the same age and you are familiar with each other, which would make the process easier-"

"I don't understand why you want them apart."

Skulker looked down, searching for words. Emotion was not his forte. "Ember and I have a . . . _troubled_ history together. We are not on the best of terms now, but that wasn't always the case."

"You mean you two were _together_?"

"If I am interpreting your connotation correctly, then yes, we were."

"Wow. So what are you going to do?"

"I must find a way to get her back. Our last encounter didn't end on a particularly good note, but I will prevail regardless."

"What did you do?"

"Oh, I wasn't paying enough attention to her or something of that nature. I'm only a ghost, for Clockwork's sake! I can only do so much!"

"Well, you can't expect to go in, guns blazing, and win her heart. I think we need to work on getting you in touch with your sensitive side first."

Skulker sighed in disappointment. "I was afraid you would suggest that."

To Be Continued

_A/N- So, Skumber it is! For the record, I think I coined the term Skumber, as used in the summary in_ The End of Plasmius: Part 1. _If it was made up before then, I didn't know about it. Just to fill you all in if you're confused, This segment began on a Tuesday. This chapter ends on a Wednesday night, two days until Ember's concert. Ember has to entertain Danny (like the new costume? IIf you couldn't visualize it, just think of Danny's upper body clothes having the opposite colors as they did in the cartoon) and Sam has to teach Skulker how to be considerate. How will the two ghosts manage? Find out later._

_Again, Holy Catsauce! 8 reviews for one chapter? This is a pleasant surprise. I think this is going to pass up my _RvB_ story by a lot. Thanks to all who reviewed, especially _HiddenAuthor, Pieling, slyfoxx, Cylon One, Andrew Laplante, Sapphire Wolf Master, Ant Crown _and_ TDG3RD.

_Until Next time . . ._


	16. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 6

Chapter XXIV

The movie theatre was not very crowded since it was a school night. Ember sighed in relief at the sight. Having to go out with a kid was one thing, but having masses of people see it? No good would come from that. Still, Ember's body looked like that of an eighteen or nineteen year old, and Danny was a bit tall for his age, so nobody would come to suspect pedophilia, or something else that could damage her career.

"So, what movie did you want to see?" she asked uninterested. The faster this was over, the faster she could end this nightmare.

"It doesn't matter," Danny said dreamily. He had changed into his human form, much to Ember's surprise, in order to attract less attention. "Just as long as we're together!"

Ember slapped her forehead. "Oh come on! There has to be _something_ you can decide on!"

Danny scratched his chin. "How about _Ninja Cyborg Zombie Snakes on a Plane_? I haven't seen it yet, but Samuel L. Jackson is supposed to be awesome in it!"

Ember sighed. "Fine. Now let's go before somebody sees us."

Danny pouted. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Very."

The limousine pulled up to the theatre and the two exited it. The ghost driver then drove off into the night, leaving them alone in front of the building.

"You know, its pretty cold out," Danny said as he put his hand on Ember's waist.

"I'm a ghost, you mindless drone! I don't get cold!" Ember elbowed Danny in the side, causing him to stumble away.

Danny didn't even care. "It's almost time for the movie to start! Come on; let's go so we can get good seats!"

Ember had no choice but to follow as Danny grabbed her wrist and dragged her inside. "Yes, let's rush because it'll be _so hard _to get good seats."

Danny didn't even stop at the ticket counter, as nobody was there. They burst into the large room and took a seat directly in the middle. The lights had already dimmed and the previews were starting. Danny tried to be covert and slipped his arm around Ember, but failed miserably.

Ember was very disappointed with herself. This was going to be the longest two days of her afterlife.

* * *

"Human child, it is time to wake up." 

Sam rolled over on her side to look at her alarm clock. It read 5:30 a.m. "Skulker," Sam growled in a whisper. "Why did you wake me up?"

"You must get ready to be educated. We cannot hope to break Ember's spell unless you learn all you can about her."

"I don't go to school to learn about Ember, or any other ghost for that matter. I go to school to learn random, pointless things. Half of them I won't ever need to use in my life."

"But you forget, child, Ember is quite popular at your educational center. If nothing else, you may learn something of value."

Sam sat on the side of her bed and rubbed her eyes. Skulker was standing a comfortable distance away, although all Sam could see in the darkness was the glowing green eyes, Mohawk and goatee. His face was slightly illuminated by the eerie glow.

"Can you leave so I can get dressed?"

Skulker turned intangible and floated up through the roof. Sam sighed before getting completely out of bed. She discarded her pajamas and blindly made her way over to her closet. She fumbled to find the doorknob and finally managed to get the door opened. With the flick of a switch, the large, walk in closet was lit up and Sam could see a wide range of clothes. She walked through her closet, examining every outfit. Blue jeans, dark purple jeans and black jeans lined one side of the wall. Her skirts and shorts were behind them, as it was too cold to wear them. Sam pulled a pair of black jeans from the rack and slid them on. She then glanced at the adjacent wall, lined from front to back with shirts of all colors. Sam took a black shirt with green camouflage patterns on it. After slipping on a pair of boots, she examined herself in a mirror. The Goth thing seemed to work for her.

"You look like a spitting image of a woman I once knew," said a deep voice from seemingly nowhere.

"Skulker!" Sam almost cried out. "You were watching?"

"I would not disrespect you in such a way, child. I saw the light from your room go out and assumed you had dressed. I was correct, was I not?"

Sam sighed. "Just don't do that. Its creepy."

"I apologize."

"So, what were you saying about a woman you once knew?"

"It is of no consequence," Skulker said. "But if you must know, I am not the spirit of one single being. I am the conglomeration of some of the greatest mercenaries that ever lived on this planet. One of which was a man by the name of Kain Manson. He-"

"Wait," Sam said in shock. "Did you just say _Manson_?"

"Yes I did. The brother of that man, named Ishmael Manson, was some sort of inventor, if I recall. He wanted to make something that-"

"Wrapped cellophane around deli toothpicks?"

"Y-yes, that was it," Skulker said confused. "How do you know that?"

"He was my great grandfather."

Skulker took a step back and stared at Sam with wide eyes. "Then that would mean . . ."

"I'm your great grandniece?"

Skulker took several steps forward and looked closely at Sam. "You look almost exactly like your great grandmother when she was your age."

Sam smiled. Sure, it was creepy that the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary was at least a fraction of her great, great uncle, but at least she knew that her _entire_ family wasn't obsessed with money.

"Well, I better be off to school then," Sam said.

"I shall monitor this area," Skulker replied.

Sam smiled and walked toward her door, grabbing her coat along the way.

"And . . . Samantha?" Skulker said hesitantly.

Sam turned around. "Yeah?"

". . . Have a nice day."

Sam smiled and left her room, sliding through the house silently and slipping out the door. She began to walk to school with a grin on her face. A relative who could actually be cool? This was turning out to be a good day.

To Be Continued

_A/N- What did I just do? Sam is related to Skulker? WTF! I'm not sure if I got the titles right, with all the greats and the grands, I might've made a mistake somewhere in there, but oh well! You get the point. I figured that a little toad ghost wouldn't be very threatening, but if it was a combination of multiple souls, that seemed to fit with me. Either way, hes' a green blob inside a robotic suit, so get used to it. You'll find out how Danny's date with Ember went in the next chapter. I didn't feel like writing it because that would just be a few paragraphs of sexual innuendo and movie spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the awesomeness that is_ Snakes on a Plane_. Also, did anyone pick up the foreshadowing in chapter 23? No hints there, you'll have to figure it out for yourselves, but be cautioned; it will shock you._ **WE ARE TWO SEGMENTS AWAY FROM THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERIOUS SHADOW **_That will be the biggest surprise in this entire story. Be ready for it._

_Thanks to all who reviewed (I had to go stock up on Catsauce and Holy Water), especially _leadfoot352, Andrew Laplante, Anonymous Reader13, TDG3RD, slyfoxx, HiddenAuthor, Lt. Commander Richie, Sapphire Wolf Master _and _Pieling.

_El Honk._


	17. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 7

Chapter XXV

Sam walked through the halls of Casper high with a grin on her face. Her uncle! Skulker! It was just awe inspiring to think about. Part of her was freaked out, but it was a very small part. The rest of her was rapturous. She felt as though she was walking on air, and others seemed to notice.

"Wow Sam, you seem pretty happy. Who died?"

"Is it opposite day?"

"Hey, keep disgusting mayonnaise to yourself! Oh, hi Sam."

The girl ignored them and glided to her locker. Nothing could spoil her mood. Nothing, except-

"Danny?" Sam asked as she saw the boy stand in front of his open locker. "Danny, is that you?"

The raven haired boy looked from his locker and spotted Sam. He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, hi?" He asked more than said. "Do I know you?"

Sam reeled in shock. She had been wrong; there was something that could spoil her day. "Danny, it's me, Sam? Sam Manson? We've been best friends for years!"

Danny shook his head. He looked extremely upset. "No, sorry, don't know you. Look, I need to go, school and all."

Sam was nearly in tears. "See you after school?" she called after him.

There was no reply. Sam almost broke down when she felt the temperature drop. "It's only an effect of the spell that has been cast on him," Skulker said quietly. "If you want him back, we need to break the spell."

"What are you doing here?" Sam demanded.

"I wanted to ensure there were no problems."

"Right. So, how do we break the spell?"

"There are two ways. He must either be presented an image so disturbing to his mindset that the spell is broken, or-"

"Wait, what do you mean by disturbing?" Sam asked cautiously. She was making her way to class, trying to keep her conversation with Skulker quiet.

"Something that his enchanted state would find disturbing."

"Oh. What was the other option?"

"Break Ember's guitar."

"That's it?"

"It is much harder than it sounds," Skulker explained. "Getting it will be the hardest part, but after that it will be as simple as . . . well, breaking a guitar."

"So I have to go through an entire day with a love struck Danny who adores a ghost pop star? Tucker's going to-" Sam froze. "Skulker, where is Tucker?"

She heard only silence. The temperature returned to normal and Sam cursed under her breath. Danny didn't know who she was and Tucker was being held hostage. Her day was taking a turn for the worse.

-

Danny sat down at his desk and sighed. A whole seven hours without his beloved? How would he manage? First period came and Danny handed in his homework one of Ember's servants had done for him. Danny didn't pay attention to his teacher, but doodled in his notebook about the woman who had stolen his heart. Some tall blonde kid, who Danny was apparently supposed to know, took notice of his drawings.

"Those are pretty good, Fenton," the boy commented. "It's about time you came to your senses."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Danny replied.

"I'm still gonna wail on you for yelling at Paulina, though."

"Who's Paulina?"

Dash did a double take. "Are-are you serious, Fenton?"

"I don't know," Danny said. He was focused on drawing Ember's nose in his latest headshot. Noses always gave him trouble.

"Wow," Dash said as the bell rang. "You're really that out of it?"

"Look, I'm going to be late for class," Danny said as he tried to push past people. "The sooner I get out of here, the better."

Dash was left in a stupor. Fenton was so absorbed with Ember he had forgotten about Paulina? That was a serious obsession. Dash made his way to his next class, slowly forgetting about the incident. Too many concussions will do that.

-

Danny sat down in his biology class, fifth period and right before lunch. His stomach was growling and he decided that he would be able to serve Ember better on a full stomach. The day had been agonizingly slow thus far and his aching stomach didn't help matters. The biology teacher, a short overweight man, began passing out quizzes, which Danny had not studied for. He hadn't even remembered it.

"When you are finished with your quiz, you are dismissed to lunch. Take your time, people, there's no rush."

Danny circled his answers quickly and handed his test in barely two minutes after it was handed out.

"Done already?" the teacher asked suspiciously.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah."

The man looked through the paper, glancing over the test. A grin came to his face. "I think this is a new record for getting an A!" the man exclaimed. "How'd you do it?"

Danny looked around. This was an awkward situation indeed. "Uh, feel, don't think. Trust your instincts!"

Several students chuckled at the obvious Star Wars reference, but the rest didn't get it.

"Well, Mr. Fenton, you are excused to lunch."

Danny smiled and grabbed his backpack before running off. He arrived in the cafeteria and practically flew through the lunch line. He sat down at a table with his food and began to devour it, but was interrupted when a green mist emerged from his nose.

"Slow down there," said a familiar voice. "You're going to be a full ghost if you keep eating like that."

Danny smiled. "If that means I get to be with you, then I'll go back for seconds!"

Ember sat, invisibly, across from him. "Holding up ok?"

"I am now," Danny replied.

Ember sighed. "I just thought I would stop by to make sure you didn't skip any classes."

"If you want me to skip classes . . ."

"No, I don't. I've been watching you, Danny. You're going to blow your cover. I've been doing a bit of research and that girl, Sam? She's your best friend. And Paulina? You're supposed to be in love with her."

"I'm not!"

"I know that, but you have to pretend. For now. Come Saturday, you'll never have to pretend to like them ever again."

Danny turned the thought over in his mind. "Ok, but only because I love you."

Danny heard the sound of a palm connecting with a forehead. Since the night before, he had heard it enough times to recognize it, even if he couldn't see it being done. He grinned.

"Ok, look. Here comes Sam. She knows that you're . . . in love with me."

"She does?"

"Yes. She also knows you're half ghost. Please, try not to make it too obvious that you're an obedient servant to my almighty power. At least not to everyone else."

"I'll try . . ."

"That's all I ask for."

Ember's presence faded away and Danny frowned. He knew what he had to do. "Sam!" he called out to the girl who was looking for a place to sit. "Over here!"

The girl's face lit up and she sped over to the table, quickly seating herself across from Danny. "You kinda scared me this morning," she said. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. You know, perfectly fine! Good is . . . me. So, how are you?"

"Danny, come on. You're still under Ember's spell, aren't you?"

"Only under the spell of her undying love for me."

Sam sighed. "Danny, you don't really love her and she doesn't really love you. It's a spell."

"I've never been happier in my life!"

"Do you remember any of your life before you fell in love?"

"Well, uh . . ." Danny scratched his chin. "No. Still, I'm happy. You're supposed to be my friend, Sam. Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Not when it's fake happiness," Sam said sadly. "I want you to be happy with someone, but not her!"

"You think you could do better?"

Sam glared at Danny. The boy squirmed uncomfortably. "I wouldn't even need a magical guitar." She stood from her seat and left Danny to go over what he had heard.

Several thoughts passed through his mind. He was under a spell? Ember didn't really love him? His heart raced. Would he be able to take the pain if that was the truth? Doubt seeped into his once steely resolve. He had to know what was really going on.

The bell sounded for the end of lunch, but Casper High would see no more of Danny Fenton that day. The boy slid outside and changed into his ghost form, the silver-green rings changing him from Danny Fenton into Phantom. Baggy jeans, sneakers and a white tee shirt were changed into a hazmat suit with black pants, white boots and waist strap, white top, black gloves and collar. His black hair was now white and his deep blue eyes were now vibrantly glowing neon green.

Phantom took to the sky, headed in the direction of Ember's warehouse. He wasn't sure what the truth would be, but he had to know. He _had _to, for the sake of his heart.

To Be Continued

_A/N- So Sam has quickly and gratefully come to terms with her heritage. She_ is _Sam, although in the Ultimateverse she is slowly becoming gothic rather than starting out that way. She still loves things that make signify individuality and since Uncle Skulker was a mercenary instead of a money-monger, that fits the bill. So, what's in store for Danny? Will he discover the truth, or will Ember cloud his mind with lies? FYI, he doesn't realize what happened to him, although I guess that would be more noticeable if this was a show instead of a fan-fiction. Stay tuned for the actiony ending chapters coming soon._

_I see that I'm reeling in a bunch of new reviewers along with the continued support of my original reviewers. You guys make it all worth while. And seriously, 100+ reviews? SWEET! I'm overjoyed! Thanks to all 'yall who left a line, especially _TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, Lt. Commander Richie, Anonymous Reader13, doc.exe, The Fluff Ghost, Pieling _and_ Sanne-chan.

**UP, UP AND AWAY!**


	18. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 8

Chapter XXVI

"Danny Fenton?" Mr. Lancer looked around his classroom, searching for the boy whose name he had called. "He was here today; does anyone know where he is?"

Sam raised her hand. "I don't think he was feeling well. He might've gone home."

"Yeah," Dash piped in. "He was really out of it today."

Mr. Lancer nodded and marked Danny down as absent. With the start of the New Year, classes had been changed around to switch up electives. Mr. Lancer's English class had nearly doubled in size, although it was not very large to begin with. Among the newcomers to the eight period Literature class was Sam Manson, the young woman who completed Lancer's favorite trio.

"And Mr. Foley is absent as well?"

Sam's eyes widened, remembering that Skulker had done something with him. She scowled and made a mental note to ascertain his location from her uncle.

The man wheeled himself out from behind his desk with a grin after setting down the absentee list. From a pouch on the side of his wheelchair he withdrew an old book with a decrepit cover. "Today," he said. "We are going to venture forth into the works of the great authors of the eighteenth century."

Sam sighed inwardly. Without Tucker or Danny, this was going to be a very long class.

* * *

Danny flew through the streets of Amity Park, traveling faster as more uneasiness crept into his heart and mind. Stray newspapers and garbage was pulled into the air from the wake of the specter as he sped through the town. People stumbled around; several even fell, cursing their city's ridiculous weather patterns. 

He finally arrived at the pier. Flying to the warehouse, he noticed large boxes being packed into Ember's truck. Their concert was in two days, and without the Box Ghost's help the packing company would need all that time to load the boxes. Using Ember, her servants or Danny to load the gear was out of question, since ghostly activity would raise suspicion.

Fazing into the warehouse he saw Ember looking over her favorite song, _Remember_. Danny floated up to her and touched down on the cement floor. Ember turned around and gasped when she saw the boy.

"What are you doing here?" She cried. "You're supposed to be at school!"

"Ember, I want the truth," Danny said. "Do I really love you?"

Ember's eyes widened, but quickly narrowed. "That Sam girl told you that you were under a spell, didn't she?"

Danny nodded. "I don't want to believe her, but I can't remember anything before I fell in love with you. I don't know who people that I'm supposed to have known for years are; I don't even know my family! Ember," Danny said with tears forming in his eyes. "Please, tell me it's not true."

"Relax, Danny," Ember said soothingly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "What do you feel?"

"That's just it! I don't know anymore! I don't know what I feel!" Danny stormed around the warehouse, his eyes glowing brightly. "I don't know who I am!"

Ember summoned her guitar to her hand and turned one knob to the symbol of a heart. "Danny, you do love me," she said softly. "You love me more than you even realize."

Danny spun around and saw Ember with her guitar. He saw the dial pointed to the heart symbol and gasped, falling to the floor. "Sam . . . she was right."

"This might sting," Ember said with a smirk.

Danny stood from the ground, but his head hung in despair. "Ember, I thought you lo-" Danny sobbed. "_Why?_"

"You think I would ever love _you_? Do you think _anyone_ will ever love you? You're a _freak_! Half ghost and half human?" Ember laughed wickedly. "What sane woman would ever really feel for you?" A small puddle of tears was forming on the floor below Danny's face. "I'll answer that for you. There aren't any! You're alone in this world, Danny. No matter what you do, no matter what role you play, you'll be alone _forever_!"

Danny's head snapped up. His face contorted in rage. His hair stood straight up before exploding into a white flame. His green eyes slowly deepened into a blood red and covered the whites and pupils. His skin paled to a sickly light greenish blue and he floated up off the floor.

Without any sort of comeback or retaliation, Phantom raised an arm and fired a massive green ecto-blast into the truck outside, annihilating it on contact and destroying all of Ember's musical equipment. The packagers looked at the destroyed vehicle and fled in terror. Danny turned his attention to Ember, who was looking between Phantom and her vaporized equipment in horror.

"What have you done?" She shrieked. "**WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?**"

Danny began to advance towards Ember, but her three ghostly servants appeared before him, ready to defend Ember. Phantom was not amused.

He fired and ecto-ray from his fist, but called it back on itself. The opposing currents of ectoplasm being forced into each other caused the ray to solidify, creating an ecto-blade. Danny lunged forward and stabbed one of the ghosts through the abdomen. It cried out before melting into a puddle of ectoplasmic goop. The remaining ghosts attacked him from each side, but Danny formed the silver-green rings at his waist and sent them hurtling away from each other, forcing the two assailants back. Phantom grabbed the ghost to his left and threw him at the ghost to his right in a spin. He launched his blade at the ghosts, piercing both of them through the chest. They suffered the same fate as the first.

Ember was petrified. Danny advanced closer, glaring at her with murderous intentions. He stood over her, his eyes glowing red. His raised his foot and pounded it into Ember's stomach before she could beg for mercy or go intangible. She was forced into the concrete, forming a crater around her. Danny continued stomping until Ember was embedded nearly a foot deep into the floor.

"D-Danny," Ember coughed. "Please, s-stop!"

Danny took several steps back and flew out of the building, blasting through the roof. Ember sighed in relief, but it was short lived. She barely had enough time to go intangible before a massive green light enveloped the building and disintegrated it along with Ember's guitar.

* * *

"Samantha," Skulker said beside her. "Something is terribly wrong." 

Sam was walking home from school, clearly tired from a long day of school with no friends to cheer her up. Only her ghostly mercenary uncle. "There is something wrong. I haven't seen Tucker since yesterday. What is going on?"

"Tucker is fine. He is in the public library and should be in contact with you soon enough. We have bigger problems to worry about."

"Such as?"

Skulker, being invisible, couldn't really show Sam what he wanted to, so he extended his viewing screen and made it visible. Sam grabbed it by the sides, making it look as though she was holding it. Although crushing it would be a more appropriate term.

" . . . are unsure as to what caused this rampage, but the ghost bears a semblance to Phantom, the ghost boy who saved Casper High School and Tucker Foley from ghost attacks. Most spectators believe this is a different ghost entirely and there is no evidence to prove the contrary. The ghost's rampage began here, at pop-singer superstar Ember McLain's warehouse. The ghost vaporized her equipment and destroyed the building before heading out in a south eastern direction. Authorities have lost sight of the ghost, but world renown ghost hunters Madeline and Jack Fenton have issued this statement. _'Please stay calm and remain indoors. If you see the ghost, do not try to provoke it as a likely side effect will be death'_. Jack Fenton has come out with his own individual statement, _'This is not my fault'_. We'll have more on the **Wraith Rampage** in several moments. Back to you, Tiffany."

The screen became invisible as Skulker retracted it into his armor. "Are you convinced that this is, indeed, more serious than slight discomfort on your human friend's part?"

"Yeah," Sam mumbled. "Skulker, that was Danny, wasn't it?"

"I'm afraid so. Ember must have revealed to him that he was under a spell, although I'm surprised the result was as . . . drastic. He must be very loyal."

"He's clueless first," Sam said sadly. "Everything else falls in place after."

"Do not be so certain, child. However, we must deal with this accordingly. The first course of action we should take is finding Ember."

"Why?" Sam questioned. "Danny's gone insane! We need to find him before we do anything else!"

"The ghost child is still under the spell," Skulker replied.

"What?"

"If the spell had been broken, the child wouldn't be on a rampage at this moment."

"But Danny attacked her!"

"If the spell is lifted, he will return to his normal state of mind."

"So we need to destroy Ember's guitar?"

"Yes. At this point, there is no other option."

Sam put her hand to her forehead. Danny, her Danny, had gone off the deep end. Breaking the guitar was their only hope. "To the warehouse," she sighed.

Sam felt an invisible mechanical arm scoop her up and turn her invisible. The disembodied sound of rocket engines could be heard as Skulker blasted up off the ground and headed in the direction of the destroyed warehouse.

To Be Continued

_A/N- The Ultimate Enemy so soon? Nah, its just a phase. He'll grow out of it, just like America grew out of the 80's. Well, most of us did. Ember's guitar is destroyed? What'll happen when the unlikely relatives discover that? What sort of distrubing image (or action) must be done to free Danny from his rage driven rampage? Will Danny come to his senses and end up with Sam? Is Ember ok? Although at this point I can't imagine anyone caring about Ember's wellbeing. So, this segment is just about done. I think maybe two more will do it._ BUT WAIT!_ That would mean that this is the third segment in a row to consist of nine chapters! I smell a conspiracy. No, wait, it's just Earl._

_Thanks to all of my reviewers. I wish I could create a shrine in your honor, but all I have is a chewed pencil, a paper clip and half a box of twinkies . . . Somebody call MacGuyver. Special thanks goes to_ 2wingo, Doctor Shadow, Hidden Author, Lt. Commander Richie, Wushu, darkbunny92, Skye-chan, Pieling, Andrew Laplante, TDG3RD _and_ Anonymous Reader13.

_So many reviews . . . so little time. And ten thousand hits! HOORAY!_


	19. Hearts, Heroes and Harlots 9

Chapter XXVII

Dust was beginning to settle on the remains of what used to be Ember McLain's warehouse. Amidst the rubble, a petite, light blue fist punched into the air, scattering concrete and steel away from it. The fist opened and Ember's hand began feeling around for something to grab onto. After grabbing hold of a pipe, Ember's battered body followed the hand. She looked around her at the destruction that Phantom had caused and fell to her knees. If it wasn't for that stupid kid, she would still have her music. Ember's other fist opened shakily. A mound of dust sat in her palm; all that was left of her guitar. An oceanic breeze came through and scattered it into the air and she was left with nothing. Again.

"You bitch!" came the voice of a very distraught girl. Ember lifted her head in time to see the girl who Danny was supposed to be friends with storm through the debris up to her pathetic form. "What did you do to Danny?"

Ember looked away from her, tears forming in her eyes.

Sam grew infuriated and kicked the ghost in her abdomen. The steel toed boot connected with Ember's stomach and sent her sprawling on the ground. Sam moved in for the kill, but an invisible hand stopped her.

"Stop!" a deep masculine voice exclaimed. "We haven't the time for this foolishness."

Ember looked in the direction of the voice. The air behind Sam began to flicker with green electricity. The massive humanoid figure of Skulker flickered into visibility. A scowl of disappointment was etched on his face. Ember smiled.

"Skulker?" She coughed. "My little Skulky? What are you doing here?"

Skulker's scowl deepened at the nickname. "Cleaning up your mess," the mercenary replied bitterly.

"And is this," Ember waved her arm at Sam, "your new merc in training?"

"This is my niece," Skulker said defensively. "You have damaged the ghost child's mental stability and unless we can return him to normal, Samantha's mate will be lost."

"He is **NOT MY MATE!**" Sam bellowed.

"Ember," Skulker said, ignoring Sam. "Your guitar, we must destroy it."

Ember looked from Sam to Skulker and burst into maniacal laughter. "Oh Skulky," she cackled. "You came all the way from another dimension to destroy the one thing I still held dear. I guess it wouldn't be the first time," she said. Her laughing was becoming softer. "You didn't even need to go through dimensions to do it the first time."

"Ember, we can discuss who went wrong with what in our relationship at a later date," Skulker said with a sigh. "I will make a solemn vow to repay you for your loss if you hand over the instrument now."

"I don't have it," Ember spat. She struggled to her feet and stumbled over to the robotic battle suit. She grabbed onto Skulker's tank top and leaned in close to him. "He _incinerated_ it."

Skulker reeled back. "What?" The mercenary stared at the musician in shock. "I don't understand . . . how?"

"Look around you!" Ember cried, throwing her hands into the air. "Are you surprised? He did all of this!" Ember kicked a chunk of cement into a section of brick wall that was still standing. It shattered. "He almost killed me!"

Skulker's Mohawk flared up momentarily, but settled back down. "If the guitar is destroyed, how can he still be under your spell?"

Ember looked up at the sky. "He is in love," she said after a long pause. "But he can't figure out with whom. He thought he was in love with me, but Sam told him otherwise. I told him nobody could ever love him," Ember paused to wipe a tear from her eye and to allow Skulker to restrain Sam. "My spell only amplifies love. He feels it, but he has nobody to direct it at."

"Is it possible he could still feel love for you?" Skulker mused.

"I guess," Ember replied. "Although I don't know why he would."

"Then his problem is conflicting persons," Skulker decided. "We need to show him that you truly don't love him," Skulker decided, pounding his fist into his hand.

"Great idea," Ember said sarcastically. "How?"

Skulker scratched his chin. "I'm working on it," he said finally. "We need to locate him first."

Skulker blasted into the sky. Ember sighed and followed him. Sam was left on the ground. "I'll walk," she said to herself. The girl began to move away from the remains of Ember's warehouse when her cell phone began to ring. She recognized the tune, as she had set it for a specific person. Sam hurriedly pulled the phone from her pocket and flipped it open. "Tucker! Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," came the reply.

"Are you ok? I can't believe Skulker stuck you in the library!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not one to hold grudges. Sam, is our favorite half-ghost having problems with his love life?"

"He is. Tucker, how do you know that?"

Tucker laughed. "That Skulker guy thought he took me out for a few days. His little neural paralysis device was no match for my PDA's batteries' radiation. It wore off in less than half an hour! Twenty five minutes, sixteen seconds and three milliseconds to be precise. I can go on if you-"

"Tucker?" Sam warned.

"Oh, right. Well, the paralysis wore off in segments. I was able to move my upper body for a while, but my legs were still useless."

"CAN YOU GET TO THE POINT?"

"Ok, ok, calm yourself!" Tucker cleared his throat. "Anyways, as it turns out, Skulker put me right in the section of the library that nobody bothers to go; the ancient texts, written during medieval times. Sam, I read all those books. I know how to save Danny!"

* * *

Skulker and Ember flew through the evening sky of Amity Park. An otherwise beautiful Wednesday evening was disturbed by the small green fires that pockmarked random sections of Amity Park. The fires were in no specific placement, but they were all leading to the same place. Amity Park's Terror Tower Hotel, built as a massive resort for the tourism industry. Ever since the previous year, when stories of the ghost boy and his battles were circulating around the nation, people flocked in by the thousands, hoping to catch a glimpse of the infamous Phantom. Those staying there currently were about to get their money's worth. 

"Well, I guess it's obvious where he's headed off to," Skulker said aloud, hoping to break the silence between him and Ember.

"I wish I was as perceptive as you," Ember said mockingly. "Maybe then I would've been able to pinpoint where you were always going off to!"

"Ember, please," Skulker said frustrated. "It was bad enough that I wasn't always able to be with you. Do you think I enjoyed keeping my job a secret as well?"

"You didn't seem so terribly upset when I found out from that harlot you're always going around with."

"We arrived at the decision to tell you. It was the best thing to do."

"I just love how you think it's so noble and chivalrous to have an affair!" Ember yelled.

Skulker stopped flying. He hovered in place, eyes wide with shock. "Is that what this is all about? You thought I was having an affair?"

"What else could you have been doing?" Ember shouted, turning to face him. "Always sneaking off at the strangest times, being all mysterious about what you were doing and who you were with, what was I supposed to think? Mercenary was the last thing on my mind."

Skulker remained silent as he bobbed up and down from his spot. "I was going to tell you," he said quietly. "I was going to, but I never got the chance. You jumped to conclusions too quickly. You never stopped to consider-" Skulker stopped mid sentence as the silhouette of Phantom rose up behind Ember. "**LOOK OUT!**"

Ember raised an eyebrow. "I never stopped to consider _what_?"

Skulker lunged forward and pushed Ember out of the way just as an ecto-ray was fired at her head. It his Skulker's battle suit instead, tearing through it completely. Skulker grasped onto the entry wound. "Ghost child, you just made a grave mistake."

Danny floated back and fed ectoplasm into his hands, which glowed bright green. His eyes flared brightly. Skulker extended nearly every weapon on his battle suit. Lasers, missiles and ghost rays were fired and a new green fire appeared in Amity Park.

* * *

Atop a building near the Terror Tower Hotel, two figures sat on boxes, watching the spectacle taking place in the sky. 

"I don't get it, Clockwork," the Box Ghost said. "How can love do _that_ to anybody?"

The ancient, sagely ghost chuckled. "My friend, love is complicated, more complicated than any other emotion."

The Box Ghost grinned. "And you would know, wouldn't you?"

Clockwork looked at his companion. He adjusted the dark grey cloak that covered most of his body and tugged at his hood. "Maybe I do. Then again, I know _everything_."

"Yeah, yeah," the Box Ghost said, waving his arm dismissively. "Hey, is the popcorn ready yet?"

Clockwork grinned. "The popcorn is _always_ ready," he said as he reached into a void in time and grabbed a large stone bowl filled with popcorn. He took a piece and placed it in his mouth. "Delicious. Nobody makes popcorn like the Native Americans."

The Box Ghost grinned and took some for himself, thoroughly enjoying the battle and company.

* * *

On the fifteenth floor of Amity Park's Terror Tower, one man in a white suit sat in a chair near one of the suite's windows. He was looking straight ahead through a pair of binoculars. A slight grin adorned his face. 

"So," called another man from a desk. He was also wearing a white suit. "Who's winning?"

"Phantom had a good lead, but it looks like the other one is making good progress. They seem pretty evenly matched."

"Well that's odd," the man at the computer said. He got up and grabbed his diet cola, sipping it as he walked over to the window. "Phantom's just a kid. He must be pretty powerful is he can hold up against Ghost X."

"For the last time," the man at the window said, glaring at his Caucasian partner from behind his sunglasses. "Don't call him Ghost X."

"Why not, Jackson?" he asked, looking at the African American man seated at the window.

"Because that isn't the name he was assigned. Besides, Ghost X is just . . . _stupid_."

"Uh-oh, do I detect a breach in Designation Scoffing Protocol Section **A** Paragraph **D**?"

"If that was a real protocol, then yes, Mike, you would."

Mike looked at the spectacle unfolding in the sky. The two combatants were still at it and neither was gaining any leverage over the other.

When Ember came into view, holding a pole from a stop sign, Jackson laughed. "Does she really think _that_ thing will stop him?"

"You know something," Mike stated, sipping his drink. "I'm curious as to how nobody figured out Ember was a ghost from the get go. I mean if the skin and the ears and teeth weren't enough of a giveaway . . ."

"Oh come on, Mike, plastic surgery nowadays can make anybody look like that."

The two men continued to watch the fight as the three ghosts battled each other in a battle of afterlife and death.

* * *

From the top of the Terror Tower, a lone shadowy figure observed the battle below it. Red eyes followed the movements of Phantom, then Skulker and Ember, alternating between the three. The events were unexpected, but the results were spectacular. The shadow checked to make sure everything needed had been recorded and then vanished into the darkening sky. In a wisp of pink ectoplasmic smoke.

* * *

Danny turned intangible to allow a missile to pass through him. He absorbed a laser that followed and fired it out of his other hand at the offending projectile, destroying it. A metal pole passed through his head harmlessly and Phantom spun around to see Ember, winding up to deliver another blow. The pole was glowing with pink ectoplasm. Danny fired an ecto-ray at Ember's hand, causing her to drop the pole. Danny flew down and grabbed it, swatting away lasers and missiles alike. He grabbed the pole and added his own energy to it before hurling it like a javelin at Skulker. The pole lanced through Skulker's neck, creating several small explosions as the neural receptors were broken. The robotic battle suit fluttered in the air before it bean to plummet to the ground. Danny charged up a massive amount of energy and sent the green sphere chasing after the mercenary's damaged form. 

Ember watched in horror as Skulker's body hit the pavement below with a metallic thud. The massive power blast slammed into his incapacitated form seconds later. The area shook from the force of the explosion. When the blinding light subsided, the two ghosts could see a large crater in the ground. Pieces of machinery were scattered all over the area and, right in the center of it all, was a green blob.

"No!" Ember cried. She sped down to the street as fast as possible, praying that Phantom was not hoping to get there first. She landed next to Skulker's true, battered form. The little circular form with legs and arms slowly opened its red eyes.

"Ember?" it asked in a high pitched squeaky voice.

"I'm here," she whispered tearfully.

"I'm sorry," he said sadly. "For everything."

The two ghosts didn't even notice Phantom descend from the sky. He landed at the edge of the crater he had created and looked into the center. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of Ember cradling the defeated form of Skulker in her hands. She sobbed quietly.

"Danny!" came a familiar voice. Phantom looked in the direction of the sound and saw Sam running up to him.

"Ember," he said. His voice was warped, as if another voice was speaking alongside his own. "She doesn't love me."

"No, Danny," Sam walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She doesn't."

"She lied to me!" He roared. "She made me lie to myself!" Sam flinched at the animalistic edge in his voice. Danny fell to his knees. "Why?" he asked to nobody in particular.

Danny saw as Ember placed a gentle, loving kiss on Skulker's forehead. He shut his eyes tightly; green tears were dripping from them. "She was right. Nobody loves me."

Sam gasped as a bright pink light began to emanate from Danny's body. Small heart shapes emerged from his skin and tore through his suit. The vibrant light dimmed before dying out completely. The white flame atop his head settled down and returned to the white mop of unruly hair. His full red eyes returned to neon green, the whites and pupils now visible. His eyes were unfocused and were slowly closing. He fell into Sam's arms.

"You're wrong, Danny," Sam said softly as Danny's eyes shut. "I do."

* * *

"Cleanup crews are working around the clock to replace what damage was done to the area surrounding Amity Park's Terror Tower. Luckily, Spectral Safety Teams led by Jack and Madeline Fenton were able to evacuate the area and nobody was hurt. There are no eye witness accounts of whether or not the ghost boy was Phantom, but most are still of the opinion that this was another ghost entirely. Recent sightings have confirmed the return of Phantom, leading people to believe that he defeated the other ghost in the battle and won. I'm Lance Thunder, meteorologist and, apparently, reporter for Channel Five Action News." 

Tucker clicked off the TV and grinned. "So, what really happened? I'd like to hear the story straight from the horse's mouth."

Danny smiled. "Tuck, it would take too long to explain. Just be happy knowing that Skulker is back in the Ghost Zone, Ember is being relentlessly pursued by the authorities thanks to my videotape and I'm not evil."

"Do you remember what broke the spell?" Tucker inquired.

Danny's face contorted in disgust. "It was just what you told Sam _should _happen, but seriously, you really don't want to know."

"Hey, don't make faces like that about my uncle!" Sam scolded, playfully slapping Danny's arm.

"And there's another thing I'll never **EVER** get used to," Tucker said. "Now we know you have relatives who can kill us. And will, if you ask real nicely."

"Relax Tucker," Danny laughed. He stopped laughing when a green mist escaped his nose. "Ok, don't relax," Danny corrected as he changed into his ghost half. The silver green ring formed at his waist and split in two. Each one traveled the length of his body, going in opposite directions. Where Danny Fenton once stood now floated Phantom, the ghost in the black and white hazmat suit. The top was now black again, courtesy of Sam and his gloves and collar had returned to white.

Danny floated up through Tucker's ceiling and appeared over the top of his house. Spying the ghostly offender, Phantom took off. It felt good to be back.

To Be Continued

_A/N- The end of_ Hearts, Heroes and Harlots, _ladies and germs! I think this is the longest chapter yet, I'm not sure. Anyway, I hoped you liked it. Sorry if you were expecting Sam to kiss Danny to break the spell, but that would just be too easy, wouldn't it? I tried to explain why Ember and Skulker broke up, but I don't know if I got it across clearly enough. Sorry. And hey! Danny's costume is back to normal? What gives! I'll tell you what. That costume looked kinda stupid to be honest. I have a picture of it (and a rough design of Klemper) on my deviant art account. I am Magnus-7 there, so go ahead and look at the stuff. Tell me what you think. So, I gave a little preview of Clockwork, another glimpse of the mysterious shadow and the first glimpse at the Guys in White. Yes, I gave them names. You didn't think I would refer to them as the Caucasian one and the African American one for the whole series, did you?_

_And of course, the Danny and Sam fluff. I know, the pairing is overdone to death. You can actually sub-categorize stories based on the DxS content, that's how many of them there are. There will be moderate other pairings, but it will always come back to Danny and Sam. Why? Because, quite literally, they were made for each other. Accept it._

_As always, I want to thank my reviewers. You give me the motivation to keep going. Special thanks goes out to_ The Fluff Ghost, Skye-chan, TDG3RD, Anonymous Reader13, leadfoot352, Wushu, Andrew Laplante, Pieling _and_ Hidden Author.

_**JUST ONE MORE SEGMENT UNTIL THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERIOUS SHADOW WHO IS BEHIND A LOT OF STUFF! **_

_**AND DON'T MISS URBAN JUNGLE, TONIGHT AT 8 (7 CENTRAL)!** _

_See you there._


	20. Seed of Evil

**The Seed of Evil**

_An Ultimate Danny Phantom Short_

Thunder boomed through the skies, roaring like a lion. Lightning flashed, illuminating the nighttime sky over Amity Park. Nobody was out at this hour of the night, and nobody would want to due to the torrential downpour. The rain was falling down in such large quantities it was as if God had personally poured a bucket of water onto the sleepy town. Although there was an absence of life in the streets of Amity Park, if one looked closely at the town's park, they would be able to faintly distinguish the silhouette of a cloaked figure walking to a heavily wooded area at the edge of the leisurely area.

Within the thickness of the sopping wet foliage, the cloaked figure came to a halt and before it laid a patch of dirt with a shovel with its spade slightly embedded in the muddy earth. The figure reached into the folds of its cloak and withdrew a small jar which was glowing a sickly green color. The figure sat the jar down on the ground and slowly moved over to the shovel. It raised its arms, but instead of hands, vines slithered out from the depths of the black shroud. They wrapped around the shovel's handle and began to dig.

It was nearly an hour later when the mysterious figure ceased excavating. It cast the shovel to the ground and a vine emerged from its feet. It gently wrapped around the glowing jar. Slowly, the vine maneuvered over the hole and dropped the jar into the twenty foot deep hollow. The jar shattered at the bottom of the artificial well, but the glow did not dissipate. More vines emerged from the bottom of the cloak and spread along and into the excavated dirt, rooting in it. The vines hauled the dirt over the hole and filled it in. the figure then slithered over top of the patch of dirt.

"I have done as you commanded master," a raspy voice said from within the veil. "The flesh-walkers will soon pay for their insolence."

With that, the shroud fell, but it revealed nothing. Along the patch of dirt, hundreds of small vines squirmed around in the muddy soil. They eventually settled and sprouted grass, covering the patch of dirt. The shovel decomposed into dust and the cloak vanished in the wind.

By the next day, no trace of the events during the storm would remain.

To Be Continued

_A/N- Just a foreshadowing of things to come. Sorry if it is a bit short, but I called it that for a reason. Also, I have a big paper due on Friday and a project that I have to work on all weekend. Next Tuesday I'm off to Washington DC for some Defense Seminar for the National Youth Leadership Forum. If you are going to be in the DC area next week, look for a bunch of kids walking around in suits. I'll be the fat, sweaty one._

_I leave you all this short chapter to speculate on, as your next update won't be until the week after next. Also, I decided to save you the trouble and reveal the mysterious shadow in the next chapter. I EXPECT REVIEWS! Enough to fill my ego before I leave. 6 to 10 will do nicely._

_I'll give presonal thanks in the next chapter, so then I'll have more people to thank. Better for me? Who cares about me, just as long as I write your story, right? Right. You guys are awesome._

_Until next time . . ._


	21. Hostile Introductions 1

Hostile Introductions

Chapter XXVIII

Phantom was quickly becoming popular in the eyes of the citizens of Amity Park. After the eyewitness accounts of the ghost child doing battle were seen as too overwhelming to be a prank, the press took an interest in him. The public reaction was mixed. About forty percent of the population believed Phantom to be a hero, selflessly giving his time and putting his wellbeing on the line to protect the citizens of the town. Another forty percent believed Phantom to be a menace to society, a malevolent spirit who was trying to claim the city as his own by driving out any other specter in the area. The remaining twenty percent had a varied mix of thoughts, ranging from an elaborate prank conceived and carried out by teenagers with unheard-of amounts of free time on their hands to a messenger from the pagan gods warning the citizens of impending doom.

Presently, none of that mattered. Phantom had much more important things to worry about, namely the large green gorilla ghost that was attacking him with tentacles that sprouted from its back.

"Guys, come on!" the ghost child shouted. "I can't do this all day!"

"Danny, we aren't going to open this thermos until you're well out of the way," Tucker said.

"Besides," Sam chimed in. "I don't think you'd like it very much crammed inside."

Danny rolled his eyes and dodged out of the way as the monstrous gorilla leapt off a building wall at him. His leg was nabbed by a passing tentacle and he was slammed into a window, shattering it. Danny fazed through the floor of the room and blasted out of the wall below the broken glass. He thrust his hand towards the gorilla, intending to fire an ecto-ray at the beast, but nothing happened.

"What the-" Danny glared at his gloved hand, which was not glowing as it should've been. The distraction gave the gorilla the opening to deliver a massive blow to Danny's face, sending him flipping back.

"The beam is an extension of your hand," Tucker cried out. "Let the energy flow into your hand and _reach_!"

"I'm sorry, master," Danny said mockingly. "I forgot that you, a mere mortal, know more about being a ghost than _I _do."

"Have _you_ fired beams of energy out of your eyes?" Tucker asked. Danny had no reply. "Didn't think so."

"I still don't know why you can't just teach me that," Danny called out as he successfully fired energy beams at the offending ghost, hitting it each time.

"What good would that be if you can't even fire them from your hands?"

"Just because an experienced ghost possessed your body doesn't make you better than me."

"Overshadowed, Danny, and you're right, it doesn't. It does make me smarter, though."

"Like you need that advantage," Sam mumbled.

Tucker glared at her, but shifted his gaze back to his half ghost friend in time to see one of the tentacles from his enemy wrap around his neck.

Danny cried out and tried to tear the limb from his neck, but to no avail. It tightened more and more until a sickening wet snapping sound was heard. Danny's body went limp.

"Oh my God," Sam whispered nervously.

Tucker's eyes were wide with fear. The gorilla let Danny go, who plummeted to the ground and crashed to the pavement. Tucker quickly uncapped the thermos and watched as the bright silver beam of suctioning energy lanced out of the cylindrical container and slammed into the gorilla-squid. The ghost's form contorted and began to warp as it was sucked into the thermos. Its cry of rage was cut off as Tucker slammed the lid on it. He clipped the thermos to his belt and hurried over to Danny. Sam was already by his side, looking panicked. Danny was still in his ghost form, but he wasn't moving.

"Tucker," Sam said quietly. "Is he dead?"

"Do you mean completely dead?"

Sam cast him an angry glare. "I've seen him heal himself after he's been wounded before," she said while looking back at her fallen friend. "Maybe he's healing himself right now."

"Or," Tucker said as he moved closer. "He can't heal himself because his wound wouldn't heal the right way. Let me try something . . ." Tucker felt the back of Danny's neck, feeling the spot where the spine had been severed. He pressed on it and felt it slip back into place. Nothing happened. "Well damn," Tucker said. "Now what?"

Suddenly, Danny shot forward, coughing loudly and covered his mouth out of habit. When he pulled them away, green slime was splattered on the white gloves. "Oh, gross!" he said. He wiped his hands on the ground, removing most of the gunk "Geeze, I feel terrible," Danny commented, rubbing the back of his neck. "What happened?"

"You died," Tucker said. "That ghost snapped your neck."

Danny looked at him in shock. He glanced at Sam for verification. She nodded her head. "How am I still alive then?"

"I think you can regenerate," Tucker mused. "I'm not sure to what extent, though."

"Sweet," Danny said as he stood from the ground. He dashed into a nearby ally and transformed back into his human form, the silver green rings forming at his waist and traveling the length of his body. His black and white hazmat suit was replaced by red sneakers, baggy blue jeans and a green tee shirt. He casually strolled out of the ally and glanced at his watch. "Crap," he muttered. "Not sweet. I need to be home in ten minutes or I'm grounded."

Sam grinned. "Curfews suck, don't they?"

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Danny retorted.

Sam's grin widened. She had stayed out past her own curfew several weeks back in order to save the trees in a nearby construction zone. She had saved the trees by sabotaging the construction equipment. Nobody ever made the connection so the worst punishment she got was grounding.

"I can't believe that monkey kept me busy for twenty minutes. And then killed me. He's going to get more than his neck snapped if I get in trouble."

Danny waved to his friends as he left them in the dark night with only the street lights to illuminate the darkness.

"He forgot we were having movie night at your place again?" Tucker asked.

"Yup."

"He forgot that you could've given him a ride home anyway when Jeeves gets here?"

"Yup."

"He ran halfway across town to get home when he could've flown?"

"Yup."

"That's our Danny. Speaking of which, he told me he doesn't have audio memories of when he was under Ember's spell. He remembers seeing everything, but it was like he was deaf. Did he tell you that?"

Sam sighed sadly. "Yup."

"You _told_ him, didn't you?"

"Yup."

Tucker rubbed his chin. "Maybe it was better he didn't hear you," he suggested. "I mean, his psyche might not have been able to handle it."

"I appreciate the concern, Tuck, but really, it isn't helping," Sam said.

"Sorry. But listen, you'll have other chances. And he can't stay completely stupid forever."

Sam smiled slightly. Just then, the headlights of Sam's family's limousine came into view around a corner. It pulled to a stop at the sidewalk where the two were standing. A tall man with a long narrow face exited the vehicle. He was dressed in what Danny would've called a penguin suit.

"Miss Sam, Master Tucker, good evening," the man said in a distinct British accent.

"Hey Jeeves," Sam said casually. The man opened the door for Sam, who climbed in.

"Sup, man," Tucker said. He shook hands with Jeeves before following Sam into the back of the elongated car. Jeeves took his place in the driver's seat and drove off.

"If I may, Miss?" Jeeves asked.

"Go ahead."

"I was under the assumption that Master Daniel was joining you two this evening. May I inquire as to where he has gone off to?"

"He peaced out," Tucker explained. "He forgot about tonight and ran off because he didn't want to stay out past his curfew."

"Did he also forget that I could've graciously given him passage to his home?"

"Apparently."

"My word," Jeeves muttered. "That boy is quite clueless."

"Well, he does what he has to do," Sam said. "All things considered, I hope he makes it home on time."

* * *

"Darn it. I am definitely_ not_ going to make it home on time!" Danny said to himself as he ran through the streets, taking shortcuts he had found during his city-wide escapades as Phantom. "Out of all the stupid things to happen, I had to go and get myself killed. Wonderful." 

Danny burst out of an ally way and tore down the sidewalk, running as fast as possible. He saw the massive Fenton Works sign hanging over his house barely two blocks away and ran faster. "Would you look at that," he mumbled. "Maybe I will make it home on time!"

Suddenly, Danny felt a tingling sensation run through his body. His legs twitched slightly, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the cement ground, scraping his chin and elbows. "Son of a biscuit!" he cried. After standing to his feet, he saw the green mist that came from his nostrils hanging around in the air.

"Just my luck," Danny said. He made sure nobody could see him and transformed into Phantom. The ghost child floated off the ground and flew into the air, scanning the rooftops for any sign of the ghost.

"Vat are you doing?" shouted an angry Jewish voice. Phantom spun around and spied a large green bird. It was easily larger than him, even without the enormous wingspan.

"We're trying to keep up with ya, boss," said another voice with an Australian accent, "but ya just keep flyin' off on us!" The owner of the second voice was a bird as large as the first. "Croikey, ya think we'd at least inspect these houses instead of just blastin' through 'em."

"And vere is Hans?"

"Oh he saw a raccoon or some other lil beastie. Guess he was hungry."

"As if he isn't big enough," the bird with the Jewish accent settled on a rooftop. "Ve'll just vait for him here."

The bird with the Australian accent settled on the same building. Danny took advantage of the pause in their argument and flew over to them. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Vat do you vant, child?" the first bird asked.

"Uh, well, who are you?"

"I am Harold. Zis fool next to me is Hank. Ve are vaiting for Hans, the last of our trio."

"Who are you callin' a fool?" cried Hank.

"Are you guys looking for something?" Danny asked.

"Nothing that concerns children like yourself," Harold spat.

"Aw come on, Harold," Hank said tiredly. "We need to find that person quickly, otherwise _Skulker's_ gonna replace us."

"Alvright, fine." The large condor reached into a pouch on its waist and pulled out a torn corner of a photograph. "Ve are on a search an destroy mission. Can you please tell us vere ve can find an peck to death zis lady here?"

Danny reeled back as the clawed foot of the condor shoved the piece of paper in his face. "**_MOM?_**"

To Be Continued

_A/N- I'm back! D.C. was great and I had a really good time. New friends and new memories. I forgot a bunch of my old ones to make some room. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for my absence._

_For those of you who are wondering, the_ UDP Short _has nothing to do with this segment. It is vital to the story, however, as it will lead in to one of the most super dramatic and awesome moments in the story, but for now, it's just a short. Nothing more, nothing less._

_And, liek, OMG! Reviews are teh awesome! My ego was satisfied beyond expectations, and now I am full. Special thanks goes out to_ slyfoxx, Pieling, Celestial Maiden Sukira, TDG3RD, Skye-chan, Andrew Laplante, titanfan, lightanddarklove, Ant Crown, darkbunny92, Cylon One, leadfoot352 and chaotic-kit. _I think that's everyone, but if I forgot you, I'll make a little paragraph in my next author's note to apologize. That's just how I roll._


	22. Hostile Introductions 2

Chapter XXIX

Danny floated in the air, stunned by the shred of photo paper being held before him. It looked like the top corner of the picture and, if the shredded edge was enough of an indication, the photo was not developed in such a fashion. Danny slowly took the picture from the talon and held it in his hands.

"See," cried the Australian accented condor. "I told you to ask somebody!"

"Qviet, you fool!" Harold spat. "Now zen, can you take us to zis 'mom' person?"

Danny's green eyes flared for a moment. "That's not going to happen."

Harold and Hank looked at each other, anger apparent in their features. "Vy you incompetent little-"

Danny took a fighting position and tensed even more when a loud thud reverberated through the air, followed by the sound of claws scraping against shingles. The ghost child slowly turned around and nearly reverted back to his human form out of shock. Before him perched the largest bird Danny had ever seen. It nearly dwarfed the other two and looked as muscular as a bird could get. A pair of black sunglasses adorned its face and covered its eyes. A black leather vest was worn over the body if for no other reason than to increase the intimidation factor which was already quite impressive.

Hans lowered his face to the ghost child's level. Danny looked on in horror as the mutilated corpse of a raccoon was pulled into the condor's mouth. After swallowing the animal's body, the bird opened its bloodstained beak. "These old crows giving you a hard time?"

Danny nodded, hoping to not offend the beast.

Hans reared back. "Then you'll be no match for me!" he bellowed.

"Shit," Danny cursed. He blasted off from his spot in the air and sped away as the large bird pushed off of the roof and began to give chase.

Danny weaved through buildings, fazed through walls and blindly fired ecto-blasts over his shoulder in a desperate attempt to escape the predatory bird. After several minutes Danny found himself in front of the clock tower at the edge of town. This one was still in use, unlike the older one that had been destroyed by Terrakor. Also unlike the other clock tower, this one was surrounded by Amity Park's park. There were no buildings to use as cover and the trees were fairly small.

Phantom turned to face the wall of buildings in time to see Hans literally burst through one of the old abandoned apartment buildings causing the remnants to crumble to the ground. Hans arched his back, bringing his talons forward. Danny dodged in the nick of time as the claws raked through the air. He managed to grab onto one of Hans' tail feathers and was pulled through the air as the bird circled around, searching for his prey. Danny let go of the feather on a pass and was sent hurtling at the clock tower. He concentrated on intangibility, but found to his horror that his body still retained its solidity.

"Oh no," he muttered as his body crashed through the glass and tumbled to the floor of the uppermost room. "Ok, I definitely need to work on that."

"Maybe you'll find proper motivation in my stomach!" Hans roared as he fazed into the room through the roof.

Danny rolled to his feet and fired an ecto-ray at Hans, striking him in the neck. The condor stumbled back, rubbing the area with the bends of his wings. Phantom took the opportunity to escape, but again, the powers of intangibility seemed to have failed him. The realization hit him only slightly less hard than the steel hour hand of the clock tower. The structure snapped at its base and fell from the rest of the tower, but Danny caught it before it hit the ground.

"I should've brought ketchup for you, small fry!" Hans shouted from above him.

"Oh come on," Danny hollered back. "You're a ten foot tall bird that can talk, can't you say anything cool?"

Hans made a run at Danny, but he finally was able to turn intangible, much to Hans' dismay. The condor flew into the sky and Danny thought he had driven the bird off. Of course, that wasn't the case. Although Hans was still quite far off, the bird would have enough time to alter its trajectory if Danny tried to flee. There was one way, though . . .

Danny held the steel hour hand in front of him, making sure the pointed tip was facing to his left. Then, Phantom began to spin in a counter clockwise motion. It was slow at first, but after only seconds he had built up considerable speed. So much that Hans didn't see what exactly what was being spun. The bird was plummeting down at his prey, assuming that he had accepted his fate.

Danny felt his vision darken. The exertion of the spinning was making him lose his consciousness. Danny stole one last glimpse of Hans, who was twenty meters away and traveling faster than the Bullet Train. Phantom released the hour hand and fell to the ground.

* * *

"Hurry up, Harold!" cried Hank. "Hans is probably eating that pesky brat right now and we missed it all thanks to you!" 

"Oh shut your mouth you vhippersnapper," Harold growled. "You've seen Hans eat before, it isn't all zat impressive."

Hank just scowled and rounded another building. The sight before him almost made him fall from the sky. Hank saw Hans closing in on the ghost child with impossible speed. Suddenly, a black object lanced out from the ghost child's form and smacked into Hans' head. It didn't make direct contact, but it was severe enough that the large bird smashed into the ground several meters away from its target creating a large crater in the ground.

"Holy-"

"Qviet," Harold said. "If the ghost kid did that to Hans, I'd hate to see vat he could do to us."

Hank shuddered. "Croikey, I don't care if you're dead or alive, that had to hurt."

Harold sped towards the fallen form of the large felled beast with Hank in tow. The two birds landed next to their comrade and Harold examined him.

"He's unconscious," Harold announced. "Looks like his skull is thicker zan ve thought."

"Well let's get the hell outta here before that kid wakes up!"

Harold nodded and tapped a button on his foot. Moments later, a large humanoid figure stepped from the shadows. A green Mohawk of ectoplasmic fire crackled atop his metallic head and a goatee made of the same substance jutted from his wide jaw. Intense green eyes looked at the two remaining condors.

"You do realize," Skulker said smugly. "That this means you were unable to complete the mission? It was quite simple, really. Eliminate the ghost child's mother to coincide with-"

"Ve know vat ve vere supposed to do, you barbarian," Harold spat. "And ve vould have found her if this buffoon hadn't insisted on asking for directions," he glared at Hank.

"Look," the Australian stated as the two sets of angry eyes fell on him. "We can point feathers all we want to, but Hans is down for the count. And we need to get out of here before that bloke wakes up."

The three looked at the figure of Phantom, who was lying on the ground.

"Very well," Skulker said. He hoisted the unconscious bird over his shoulder and took several steps back. "Plasmius will be expecting a full, personal report from both of you upon your return," he said with a malicious grin, showing off his razor sharp, steel teeth. "And so will I."

With that, the mercenary vanished into the night sky. The two condors looked at each other with dread before flying off.

To Be Continued

_A/N- Sorry if its a bit short, but I promise the next chapter will make up for it. I wanted to do the little fight sequence here so that was the premise of this chapter. Next one introduces TWO characters, so be ready!_

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially _Pieling, slyfoxx, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Hidden Author, chaotic-kit, Arabic Blessing, leadfoot352, TDG3RD, titanfan, Anonymous Reader13, doc.exe, Sapphire Wolf Master, _and_ darkbunny92.

_**You're crumbelievable!**_


	23. Hostile Introductions 3

Chapter XXX

(Bow-Chik-A-Bow-Wow)

(Just kidding.)

_(perverts)_

Danny sat up quickly, gasping for the oxygen that his ghost form did not actually need. He nervously looked in all directions, discerning his surroundings. After he was positive he wasn't in Hans' stomach Danny transformed back into his human form. He stood shakily and began to make his way back to his house, which was quite close to the standing clock tower.

During the walk, Danny's mind raced with the information he had gained that night. Three giant ghost condors were after his mother, apparently sent by some ghost who wanted her dead. He could not say that he was surprised, though. His parents were known across the planet for their expertise relating to all things ghostly and they had fought their fair share of the ghouls. Any ghost would harbor some resentment for the deadly duo.

Danny's thoughts then switched over to his own duo; Sam and Tucker. He smiled at the thought, but his smile was quickly replaced by a scowl.

"Darn," he muttered. "I completely forgot it was movie night! Oh man, I feel so stupid!"

Danny considered just walking away from his home and making for Sam's house, but to his disappointment, he had already rung the doorbell. The door opened to reveal the familiar figures of the tall and wide Jack Fenton and the not as tall and not nearly was wide Maddie Fenton; his father and mother.

"_Danny?_" Maddie asked confused. "What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at Sam's house with her and Tucker for your movie night?"

Danny froze. He hadn't even thought of an excuse. "I, uh, well, you see there was a . . . ghost attack! Yeah, a ghost attacked us on the way to Sam's. I chased it away and decided to come home to, uh, make sure I wasn't contaminated with ectoplasm. And then there was another ghost attack and I got sidetracked even more, so-"

"So many ghosts and we aren't there to catch them!" Jack said sadly. "At least our son is stepping up to the plate." Jack wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm so _proud_ of you, son!"

Danny was swept up into a bone crushing hug. "Ahh- thanks d-ad," Danny sputtered while trying to breathe.

"You _do_ realize that you're half an hour past your curfew?" Maddie said. "Normally we'd have to ground you."

"But we can let it slide tonight," Jack said as he put his son down. "We've got some good news, Danny!"

Danny raised an eyebrow. Normally nothing would stand between him and a punishment for breaking curfew, not even if it was ghost related. "What?"

"You're sister's back from her cross-country tour of colleges!" Jack beamed. "I'll go get her. You must be ecstatic, Danny! You haven't seen her all month!"

Danny was surprised. Jazz, his sister, was supposed to be gone for at least another week with her friends. Something must have come up, but whatever it was, it would have to wait. Danny had missed Jazz during her trip. He didn't really understand what the big deal was about her being the first person to get a perfect score on the new form of the S.A.T., but he was happy for her all the same.

He walked into the house and sat down on the couch, waiting for his sister to come out and greet him.

"Hello, little brother," came a voice from behind him. Danny spun around, but saw nothing. Suddenly, the air in front of him shimmered and the large, white form of the Fenton Ecto-Suit popped into visibility.

"Whoa!" Danny cried out as he fell off the couch he was sitting on. "Jazz? What the heck is _that_ thing?"

"Oh Danny, don't tell me you don't remember?" Maddie asked from her spot in the kitchen. "Your father and I have been talking about it all month long!"

"Oh, uh, well," Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I've been kinda busy, you know, school work and-"

"Sam?" Jazz interjected.

Danny glared at Jazz. "You've been gone for _months_! I thought you would've just let that die by now!"

"Oh come on, Danny!" Jazz said cheerfully as she maneuvered the Ecto-Suit around from behind the couch. "You two are destined for each other! And even if you aren't, it's my duty as your older sister to not only bug you about it incessantly, but to remind you that holding back emotions could have serious consequences later on."

Danny cleared his throat menacingly. "_Anyways_," he said turning his attention to the suit. "What exactly does that thing do?"

Jazz manipulated the suit so that the hands were planted on the waist. "This is probably the greatest invention mom and dad has ever created, next to the ghost portal. The technology is at least ten years ahead of our time; not even the government has-"

"Can we move it along?" Danny yawned. "I'm tired."

Jazz frowned and pointed the finger of the left hand at Danny. A small green beam lanced out from the mechanical appendage and hit Danny in the forehead.

"**OW!** What the heck was that!" Danny cried grasping the afflicted area.

"That, Danny, was the suit's built in ecto-ray. It feeds off of the miniscule amounts of raw ectoplasm in the air to harness it and convert it into a refined power source."

"It runs off of ectoplasm?"

"Partially," Maddie explained as she exited the kitchen, carrying a plate of freshly baked cookies. "The suit is also linked to the user's neural system, so the body powers the suit. Ectoplasm just powers the weapons and defense systems."

Danny cocked his head.

"The suit is linked to Jazz's brain," Maddie reiterated. "Whatever she commands the suit to do, it responds to her thoughts."

"Oh, ok," Danny replied. "So, is it just a big metal suit that fires laser beams and can turn invisible?"

"Not even close," Jazz smirked. She wound up the suit's fist and launched a bone-shattering punch at Danny's abdomen. Danny closed his eyes and flinched back as the mechanical arm sailed at him. Danny stayed back in his frightened pose, still awaiting the death blow. It never came.

"What the-?" Danny opened his eyes and saw the fist had passed through his torso.

"Intangibility generators are built into every limb and a larger one is stationed on the back," Maddie said proudly.

"So is the suit like one big ghost simulation?" Danny inquired.

"Yup, that about sums it up!" Jack called from the basement stairs. "Oh, there you are Jazzypants! I see you decided to try out the Fenton Ecto-Suit! Pretty neat, huh?"

"Your father and I are currently working on an ecto-powered flight system and strength amplifiers," Maddie said. "But those will have to wait a while. Besides, it's not like we really need it right this minute!"

Jack took some cookies from the plate and sat down on the couch next to his son. Maddie sat on the opposite side. The ecto-suit turned intangible and floated down through the floor into the basement.

"Danny," Maddie said calmly. "We need to have a word with you."

"What? Why? Look, if this is about the Dingleburg's cat, I swear it wasn't me!"

"Relax, son," Jack said reassuringly. "We didn't like the Dingleburgs anyway. Even if it was your fault their cat fell into that open barrel of molasses, we wouldn't be angry. Now they're gone off to some nowhere town called Dimmesdale, and we'll never hear from them again!"

"Jack," Maddie said scornfully. "That isn't very nice to say."

"Back to business then," Jack mumbled. "Danny, your mother and I are worried about you."

"Don't forget me!" Jazz called from the kitchen. She appeared in the doorway, straightening out her shoulder-length auburn hair. It was the same color as her mother's, as were her eyes. She tended to wear happy colors instead of a jumpsuit, and her pink tee shirt and baby blue jeans were a prime example of how she normally dressed. "I care about what's happening to Danny too!"

"Right. Ok, your mother, sister and myself are worried about you. Your grades in school are slipping, you're shirking on your chores, you're getting to classes later and sometimes you hardly show up at all! Not to mention your chores."

"You said chores already," Danny noted.

"I know," Jack said as he stood from the couch and walked over to the ecto-vacuum cleaner. "But when you don't do them, I get stuck with them!"

"We're just worried about you, we aren't angry," Maddie stated.

"You guys have to realize that it isn't as easy to be a kid as it was when you were younger. I know, that's the oldest excuse ever, but still. You guys didn't have to worry about ghosts when you were little, you didn't have to worry about global warming or childhood obesity or anything like that!"

"Those last two have almost no impact on your life, Danny," Jazz said. "But mom, Danny has a point. It is a bit more difficult to be a teenager in today's world."

"I suppose so," Maddie pondered.

"Hey, that reminds me!" Jack proclaimed from his spot next to the vacuum cleaner. He reached into a pocket on his jumpsuit and pulled out an envelope. "This came in the mail today!"

Jack hurried over to the rest of the family and they watched as Jack took the small rectangle from the pre-opened envelope. Jack held it in front of him.

"Dear Fenton Family," Jack read. "You are cordially invited to attend the twentieth annual reunion of the graduation of the class of 1976 from Wisconsin University. The reunion will be held at the Dairy King's castle in Wisconsin and will be hosted by V. Masters. We hope to see you and your family there."

"Sweet!" Danny said. "We get to go to a _castle_!"

"Why are you so excited?" Jazz asked. "These things are always boring."

As if acting to punish Jazz, the ecto-vacuum chose that particular moment to violently explode. A stream of glowing ectoplasm splattered into Jazz's face. She wiped the gunk out of her eyes and glared at her father.

"Oh I can't wait to see all the old college pals! And pallets! Speaking of which," Jack took another cookie from the tray and shoved it into his mouth, completely ignoring his fuming daughter.

"Won't this be great, Jack? We finally get to show the kids who we hung out with when we were younger! And they'll get to meet a very important person."

"Really?" Danny asked. "Who?"

"Well, she used to be my best friend and she was your father's girlfriend for a time. If it wasn't for her, we would never have become so fascinated with ghosts in the first place!"

"Well who is it?" Danny was sitting on the edge of his seat, eager to hear the identity of this mystery woman.

"She's hosting this little shin-dig, Danny," Jack said. "Her name is Vanessa Masters."

To Be Continued

_A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, you'll get an explanation later on. Now then. **HOLY CRAP, RIGHT**? Vlad is a woman? What gives! Well, let me start by saying that this was my plan from the beginning. I know that when a series of something is redone (namely comics) changes in gender are almost nonexistent. Why did I make Vanessa Masters the main antagonist instead of Vlad? There are a variety of reasons, but the biggest one would have to be redundancy. Seriously now, how much more can you warp a sadistic madman? He's already angry at the world, has a burning desire for revenge and love and is willing to go to any lengths necessary to achieve that goal. BORING! Well, sorta. This way I can take creative liberties with the character and nobody can say she is OOC because she's partially an OC. I guess that makes her a halfa! LOL! Ok, that was bad. Also, I don't want to hear any of this _Vlad's a woman now?_ mumbo-jumbo. Vlad is no longer the main antagonist. Vanessa is. While you're reading this story, you better get used to it. And no sexism! I am a man, and I happen to think that if Plasmius was a woman then there would be a whole lot more actiony violence, emotional stuff and suspenseful adventures in the cartoon. Unfortunately, the closest we've ever come to that is with PLANT-SAM in Urban Jungle. Go figure._

_So, I hope nobody died as a result of reading that last line and in the event that you did, I am dearly sorry. Let me take this opportunity to thank every single person who has reviewed this story thus far. Special thanks goes to _The Fluff Ghost, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, Pieling, Arabic Blessing, Hidden Author, Lt. Commander Richie, lightanddarklove, chaotic-kit, Andrew Laplante, skye-chan, _and_ darkbunny92.

_For those of you who are still with me after this stunning revelation, thanks! For those of you who will call this chapter "the end", thanks for sticking with me through 30 chapters. That means a lot. _

_Also, I have one, possibly two, people at working on pictures of Vanessa Masters and a new design for Plasmius (I bet you can't figure out who Plasmius is! lol, just kidding). Those should be out soon enough and I will be posting links to those pictures. In other DeviantArt related news, keep your eyes on my profile, Magnus-7, for postings of sketches that depict my twisted reworkings of your favorite characters. Those should be up sooner or later._

_**It only gets better from here!**_


	24. Hostile Introductions 4

Chapter XXXI

Flocks of small birds flew through the sky, searching for a temporary area to rest their tired wings. The sun shone down upon them, as well as the rest of the massive expanse of grassy pastures that blanketed the country side. From the bird's eye view, a small grey stripe could be seen stretching along the ground. It wasn't very wide by any standards and did little to harm the environment it was built over, but this patch of hardened tar and cement was quite possibly the more significant than anything else in the entire area. It was a path in the literal sense, but this path had much more to offer than a way to travel to an intended destination. This path was one of destiny, and Daniel Fenton was as clueless as only he could be about it.

The aforementioned teenager was sitting next to his sister in the back of the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle, also known as simply the RV. Jack was sitting at the front and driving like a man who had something to run from. Maddie was seated next to him, her foot resting gently on the emergency brake she had installed on the passenger side _just in case_.

"I can't believe this," Jazz muttered. "Why did we have to come out to the middle of nowhere when we could be home working on the Ecto-Suit? Heck, I'd even work on the Ghost Gabber if it meant not going to this ridiculous reunion."

"Oh it's only for a few days, sweetie," Maddie said reassuringly. "We'll be home before you can say _boo_!"

"Boo," Jazz mumbled. She crossed her arms and stared out the window with an angry scowl on her face.

"Let me get this straight," Danny said slowly. "This reunion's being hosted by Vanessa Masters? _The_ Vanessa Masters?"

"That's right," Maddie confirmed.

"The famous fashion designer who started the Master's Secret line?"

"Yup!"

"Number five on VH1's one hundred hottest female entrepreneurs?"

"That's the one," Maddie said less enthusiastically.

"Heiress to the famous Dairy King?"

"Danny, how many other women named Vanessa Masters carry _any_ of those titles, let alone _all_ of them?" Jazz inquired obnoxiously.

Danny stuck out his tongue at Jazz, who slugged him in the arm. "Ow! That hurt!" Danny said, rubbing the afflicted area. "Forget you, I need some air."

Danny reached over to open a window, but found that there was no standard button to perform the action with. "Wow, I walk so much I don't even know how to open the car window. Maybe it's one of these buttons," he decided while reaching for one.

"Danny, don't touch that!" Jazz cried seconds too late.

The window opened, but the hatches containing nearly every weapon system in the RV opened as well. Ecto-lasers, ice cannons, lightning-beam generators and ecto-grenade launchers all fired simultaneously, pock marking the road and country side with ectoplasmic burns. A tube from one of the lasers detached and swung about wildly in the air before spraying a concentrated stream of green gooey ectoplasm into Jazz's face. She wiped the gunk from her eyes and glared at Danny.

"I'll get you for that," she threatened.

* * *

"Increase the ecto-feed to thirty percent," ordered a voice from a shadowy corner. "Activate the spectral electron generators and synch their pulsations with the Plasmium ray." 

Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary, nodded his mechanical head and carried out the command. Switches were flipped, knobs were turned and codes were input into a strange computer. The computer formed a circle roughly ten feet in diameter and surrounded the base of a large glass cylindrical holding cell that attained a height of twenty five feet. Floating within the cell was a squid-like creature. Various wires and tubes were attached to its body and tentacles which floated in a clear-blue substance.

"Ecto-feed has been adjusted. Spectral electron generators are online; synchronization with the plasmium ray will initiate in three, two, one. Synchronization successful." Skulker walked over to a monitor that was mounted on a nearby wall. "Still no post-vital signs."

The shadowy figure clenched its hand into a fist. It began to glow with purple ectoplasm, but the glow subsided. "If you want something done right, you must do it yourself I suppose. These machines can only do so much."

The shadow floated through the dark room and stopped in front of the cylinder. The glow from within the cell made several small details of the figure become visible. A sickly blue face looked at the lifeless corpse of the ecto-squid floating inside the cylinder with what could only be disappointment. The eyes of the figure were entirely red, making it impossible to tell where her attention was directed. The mouth sported a pair of full lips bearing a pink shade of lipstick. The lips parted and revealed a pair of large fangs as the ghost-woman spoke.

"All of the money spent on this plasmium and I still can't even bring a ghost back to afterlife without intervening."

The ghost raised an arm to the tank. It passed through the glass and the fingers brushed against the cephalopod's slimy body. A jolt of amethyst ectoplasm jumped from the ghost's fingers and into the ecto-squid's body.

"Post-vital signs are visible," Skulker reported in his regular, uninterested tone. "They are weak, but Squidward should be back in action by tomorrow."

The ghost-woman raised an eyebrow. "Squidward?"

"I find it irritating to call your servants by their species name, whatever it may be," Skulker explained. "Therefore, I have taken the liberty of naming those that have not named themselves."

"Yes, I can understand that, but why Squidward? Surely there are more appropriate names for this _savage beast_." The description of the squid was said with obvious sarcasm.

"If you were to feed a prisoner or some other form of scum to that ghost," Skulker waved his arm dismissively at the tank. "Would you not enjoy their reaction upon hearing the name and then seeing the actual creature?"

The ghost, now with its back turned to the tank, squinted its eyes in satisfaction. "Yes, that would be _quite_ amusing."

Skulker looked at his employer from his vantage point. The glowing red eyes were directed at him, he could tell. The pointed sides of her hair created the impression of horns, and the cape that she usually wore hid her slender figure from prying eyes. Skulker often compared Plasmius to the malicious, hateful, evil entity Satan. Skulker was no Christian, but he had decided that if Satan was real, then Plasmius was the closest thing anyone cold come to seeing the Prince of Lies for themselves.

"I'm going back up to the mansion. Keep close tabs on the squid," Plasmius ordered. "If anything happens, I am to be informed no matter the circumstances."

"Wouldn't you rather be here yourself?"

"This reunion requires my full attention. My plan depends on it. Besides, I'm sure you can handle things on your own, unless the big strong man doesn't think he can baby-sit a big dead octopus?"

Skulker's Mohawk flared up at the taunt.

"Calm down, Skulker," Plasmius said tiredly. "You need to upgrade your next battle suit with a sense of humor."

Around the shadowy figure, a glowing black ring appeared. It carried a deep purple hue to it and expanded until it was large enough in diameter to encase Plasmius' body. The ring then split in two and each end sped in opposite vertical directions, passing over the ghost's body. Once the rings had passed over her entire body, Plasmius was gone. Nothing could be seen from the shadows, but Skulker could see just fine in the dark.

Where Plasmius once stood was now a woman of the same height, but there were several major changes. Her hair was not curved up into two devilish horns, her eyes weren't glowing red and her skin wasn't blue. Perhaps the most noticeable change would be the fact that the woman who was standing before Skulker was human. Plasmius was a ghost.

"Try not to blow up the place, hmm?"

Skulker grunted and watched as the human woman exited the darkened lab through an automated door. It slid open to allow her to pass and then sealed behind her. Skulker lifted his right arm to his face and pressed a red button.

"Plasmius suggested including a humor upgrade in next suit of armor," he spoke. "Consider seeking out Nicolai for suggestions and hardware possibilities."

Skulker lowered his arm and grudgingly returned to watching the nearly post-lifeless squid twitch around in the tank. All of the ridiculousness he had put up with through the years was all reaching a boiling point. Skulker just hoped he wasn't wasting his time.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, but this new Plasmius requires my full attention. I think I've watched Bitter Reunions on youtube over five times today. I don't think I'll encounter any problems, but if you see something that seems too strange for a Vlad spinoff to say, don't hesitate to let me know. Just keep in mind that she is a woman, and wouldn't say or do things men would. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you're looking forward to the next one because It's extra long and depicts Danny's first encounter with Plasmius. _

_I want to thank all my reviewers (16? NO WAI!), especially _slyfoxx, chaotic-kit, Shadow Guardian of the Gate, HiddenAuthor, leadfoot352, Arabic Blessing, Pieling, doc.exe, TDG3RD, angel4u185, Avalon's mists, darkbunny92, ShiroAndFubuki, titanfan, Lt. Commander Richie, Skye-chan _and_ The Fluff Ghost.

_**Until Next Time . . .**_


	25. Hostile Introductions 5

Chapter XXXII

Danny looked on eagerly as the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle pulled up to the entrance of the massive castle. The treads of the RV crunched the fine gravel beneath it. It was a welcoming sound, and it complimented the smile worn by the hostess who was standing by the door to greet her guests. The RV pulled to a stop in front of the castle and its occupants ambled out, sore from the long journey.

"Jack!" Vanessa called from the doorway of her castle upon seeing the large, orange jumpsuit-clad man exit the vehicle. "It's so good to see you again!"

"I know!" Jack said delightedly. "After all these years, look at you! A billionaire! And you're living in the Dairy King's castle! How cool!"

"And Maddie," Vanessa said upon seeing the slender, teal jumpsuit-clad woman walking over to her. "You're looking fabulous as always. The years have been great to you!"

"Oh, thanks V! I love what you've done with your hair!"

Vanessa pulled at a highlighted strand of red hair on the otherwise naturally silver locks. "I thought it was a good idea. Now people who can't remember my name can just refer to me as the _lady with the red stripe in her hair_."

The adults shared a laugh at the joke while Jazz and Danny stumbled over from the RV, still working the sloth out of their systems.

"Oh and these must be the children!" Vanessa cooed. "Oh wait, don't tell me! You're Jasmine," she said laying a hand on Jazz's shoulder. After receiving a nod, she turned her attention to Danny. "And you must be Daniel," she said. Something in her voice made Danny shudder.

"Yeah," he replied. Creepy feeling or not, she was a multi-billionaire. And she was hot. "But call me Danny, that's what everyone else calls me." _Smooth, Fenton._

"I think you'll find that I'm not at all like everyone else," Vanessa said with a smirk.

Danny blinked. _I wonder what_ that _was supposed to mean_, he thought.

"But enough idle chatter, I'm sure you're all just busting at the seams with excitement over being here. Come on inside, you all get to stay here an extra day and it would be impolite of me to not give you a tour of my castle."

Vanessa stood aside as the Fentons entered the elaborate castle through the massive front doors. She grinned after they were all inside and followed, closing the doors behind her.

"What's with all the green and gold?" Jazz asked as she looked around the foyer. "I figured red and silver would be your colors of choice."

"Jazz, look around. Football jerseys, helmets, other paraphernalia, she's a Packers fanatic!"

Vanessa walked over to the two siblings. "Fanatic is a strong word, but I suppose you're right. A little secret hobby of mine is ebay shopping, which is how I've gathered at least a third of these trinkets."

Danny blinked again, slightly in awe. That seemed like something that was below someone of such stature, but his attention was distracted as something had caught his eye. "Whoa, that's awesome!"

Vanessa walked over to the stand Danny was ogling and picked up the object that was placed on it. "Ah yes, this football was signed by the legendary Ray Nitschke himself. It is my prized possession."

"If you like the Packers so much, why don't you just buy them?" Jazz asked.

To that, Vanessa laughed heartily. "Oh my dear child, that is what I myself have wondered many a night." Her expression seemed to falter. "The Packers, however, are owned by the city of Green Bay, and current governing powers don't seem to want me to purchase them. I have recently offered them a deal they won't be able to simply overlook, but as it stands, I am unable to have them as my own."

Vanessa turned her attention to the two adults looking over a massive display case full of Packers memorabilia, her eyes settling on Jack. "One of _two_ things my money has not, as of _yet_," she chuckled, "been able to acquire."

Danny and Jazz looked at each other with bewildered expressions on their faces.

"Is she hinting at something? Like something with dad?" Danny asked worriedly.

Jazz's expression softened. "Danny, relax. She has working restrooms and probably a whole bunch of other cool stuff you can look at. Besides, we all know where you get your cluelessness from. You've got nothing to worry about."

Danny cast an angry glare at Jazz before directing his attention back at Vanessa. Despite the relief that came from not having to spend another night with his father's snoring, something felt wrong. He decided to keep an eye out for anything out of place, but remembered that was probably not his strongest field of expertise. He never _could_ find Waldo.

"I'm sure you've seen enough of the Packers for one day," Vanessa said, interrupting his train of thought. "And I can only venture a guess that you wish to see the rest of my castle."

The family followed Vanessa as she began to lead the family through the labyrinths of hallways that honeycombed the structure. The woman grinned maliciously. Everything was going perfectly.

* * *

"Jack, are you sure your calculations are right?" Vanessa asked. She looked into the small circle of steel. "I'm not sure if this is going to work." 

"Oh, come on V! Jack doesn't make mistakes when it comes to important things like this, do you Jack?"

"Of course not, baby! I mean, sure, that calculus exam wasn't stellar, but who uses calculus anyway?"

The two women giggled at the joke and went back to looking over their respective tasks. Vanessa continued examining the small machine. "So if this does work, we'll have access to the ghost dimension?"

"Exactly!" Jackl exclaimed. "Everyone knows that ghost attacks are on the rise, and we have to be able to fight back! And the first rule of combat is _know thy enemy_ and what better way to know thy enemy than to have unlimited access to their dimension?"

"Jack," Maddie said. "Did you remember to fill the filtrator with ecto-purifier?"

"On it!" Jack called. He flipped through pages on his clipboard and absentmindedly reached for the shelf containing the ecto-purifier. He accidentally grabbed a can of diet cola and nearly poured it in. "Whoa! Wouldn't want that to happen," he said, cathing the movement. He chugged the entire can and threw it into a nearby trash bin. He then went back and grabbed the ecto-purifier and poured the entire can into the filtrator, giving Maddie a smile and a thumbs up as he did.

Maddie watched as a nearby machine began to spit out readings and Jack picked up the remote control that would activate the machine. "The calculations look right, but Jack? These readings indicate that there is nearly five times the maximum amount of purifier in the filtrator. How much did you-"

"BONZAI!" Jack cried out upon hearing that his calculations were correct.

In his excitement, he flipped the switch on the remote that activated the portal. The four lights that were mounted on the border of the portal came to life. The machine began to hum and vibrate and in the center of the metal ring a green swirling mass of green ectoplasm appeared. The Maddie and Jack gasped as the proto-portal overloaded and fired a concentrated stream of ectoplasm from the machine into Vanessa's face.

Vanessa shrieked in pain as the ectoplasm washed over her face. It passed through her skin and permeated the muscle and tissue beneath it. The ectoplasm pushed deeper until it passed through the skull and wove itself into the molecules of her brain. After what felt like an eternity, the horrible pain subsided. Vanessa stumbled back, clutching her face. She removed her hands and looked at a mirror on the far wall. Glowing red pimples covered her face and her once baby blue eyes were now a luminescent shade of pink. She gasped in horror at what she saw.

"BOGUS!" She cried out. She covered her face and fled the room, sobbing and leaving glowing tears on the floor behind her.

* * *

Danny flopped down on the bed in one of Vanessa's many guest rooms. It had been a long night, touring an entire castle. Most of the elaborate structure was too boring to comprehend, but he stuck it out after being promised that he would never have to do it again. And the phone call he was allowed to make to Tucker and Sam. 

"So your dad messed her up and got her hospitalized for two _years_?" Tucker asked after hearing Danny retell the incident in the lab at his parents' old college. "That sucks for her."

"Its not like he did it intentionally," Danny said. "I mean, come on, he's my dad. Besides, nobody could've predicted ecto-acne as a result of ectoplasmic contamination back then. Heck, I bet my parents and Miss Masters were the only people in the entire country who knew what ectoplasm was, let alone all of the other gizmos and gadgets they built. "

"I think you should keep your eyes on Masters," Sam chimed in. Three way calling was a beautiful thing. "I mean, sure she doesn't seem overly hostile, but you never know."

"Of course Danny's keeping his eyes on her," Tucker commented. "If I was staying at her castle, I would too."

"Knock it off, Tuck," Danny said. "She's like thirty-something. Besides, she could be up to something, and I'm not going to go all ga-ga over some lady who has it out for my dad."

"Well, if you need anything, just let us know," Sam said with a yawn. "I'm going to bed."

She hung up before the two boys could say anything. "Dude," Tucker said. "You always get the rich and pretty ones."

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.

Tucker sighed. "Never mind, see you in a few days."

"Alright. Bye."

Tucker hung up, followed by Danny several seconds later. He snuggled down under the covers and closed his eyes, but his comfort was short lived. He half sneezed, half coughed and half choked as the green mist came out of his nose; all while he was trying to inhale.

"Great," he said while trying to clear his throat. "A working vacation. I swear, if I find one more of those spider-pillers, I'm going to freak out."

Danny grudgingly transformed into his ghost half. The silver-green ring formed at his waist and split in two, transforming his pajamas into the black and white jumpsuit that was worn by his ghost half, Phantom. His black hair became snowy white and his deep blue eyes flashed a brilliant shade of neon green. He floated up out of the large, king sized bed and fazed through the bedroom wall.

He entered the elaborate hallway and looked around for any sign of the offending ghost.

"Huh," Danny said. "No spook. Maybe I can get some sleep."

Before he could pass through the wall and return to his room, he heard the sound of soft footsteps from the end of the hall. He turned invisible and flew toward the sound to discover his mother quietly making her way through the castle.

"Now _where_ is that restroom?" she mumbled to herself while groggily stumbling through the halls and rubbing her tired eyes.

Danny sighed in relief, but his sigh turned into the familiar green nasal mist as his ghost sense went off. Turning around, he saw the familiar forms of Harold, Hank and Hans, who wore a bandage over one side of his head, flying down the hallway.

Danny floated down through the floor and grabbed his mother's ankles, turning her intangible. He pulled her through the floor and arrived in another hallway. Danny recognized a door nearby as the restroom he had seen earlier and guided his mother to the door. After she had stumbled into the room, Danny floated back up through the floor to find three perplexed condors looking for their target.

"Hey guys," Danny announced, regaining his visibility and pounding his fist into his hand. "Remember me?"

The three condors glared in Danny's direction. After they had recognized him, however, their angry expressions turned to ones of fear and the fled through the stone walls of the hallway.

"Well, that was easy," Danny said. "I wonder what they're doing here, though."

"An excellent question, child," said a feminine voice from behind him. Danny spun around and saw a ghost hovering off the ground in front of him. A large cape hung from her shoulders and covered most of her body.

"Oh well, I was aiming for the birds, but you'll do!" To which the ghost woman merely raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Danny sped at the ghost and wound up a punch, but the ghost caught his hand before he could strike. She grinned, bearing two elongated vampire-like incisor teeth, before throwing him into a wall. Danny let out a short cry and slid to the floor.

"Fast," Danny murmered. "Ok, better stop screwing around."

Danny charged again, but the ghost grabbed him by the neck, causing Danny to emit some sort of strange gargled yelp. She threw him to the ground and floated back.

"The condors were supposed to bring the promiscuous witch to me, but you'll do! Phantom, is it?"

Danny's eyes widened. He looked around, as if expecting to see another ghost. "You . . . know me?"

"Of course I know you!" The ghost said mockingly. She floated backwards through a wall and disappeared. Danny followed her through and entered a strange room that looked like a mix between a library and an Intel center. "Every ghost in the Ghost Zone knows about you! You're the ghost who uses his powers for _good_! How quaint."

The ghost floated up to Danny and brought her face dangerously close to his own. "So you've found another malevolent spirit! Aren't you going to try and suck me into your ridiculous thermos?"

Danny hovered back several feet. "How do you know about the Fenton Thermos?"

"Please, child. How many ghosts have you sent back to the ghost zone? Each one can't stop blathering on about how cramped and uncomfortable it is. Half of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone know more about your thermos than they do about you!"

Danny reached for the thermos on his belt, only to find that it wasn't there.

"Ah, I see you came unprepared," the ghost taunted. "I guess you'll just have to take me out the old fashioned way!"

"I don't want to fight you," Danny said.

"Why not?" the ghost pouted. "Is it because I'm a girl?" she floated away from Danny. "You're supposed to protect humans, Phantom. Eventually you'll have to hit a few people you don't want to."

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Danny said sarcastically.

The ghost turned to face him, her red eyes glowing. "Don't sass me, boy. I have more power than you could possibly imagine."

"Oh yeah?" Danny asked, taking a fighting stance. "Prove it!"

"Very well," the ghost replied.

Danny was hit with purple ecto-beams fired from the ghost's eyes. He was sent crashing into a table, which broke in half from the force of the impact. Danny flew up and fired ecto-beams of his own from his hands, but the other ghost raised a rectangular shield before the blast hit and the beam harmlessly dissipated on the wall of purple ectoplasm.

"An ectoplasmic energy blast, so year one," the ghost said. She yawned while maneuvering the wall to deflect more blasts away from her. "Tell me child, can you do this yet?"

Danny suddenly found himself facing two of the ghosts, then three and finally a fourth. The four copies surrounded Phantom, smiling evilly.

"No, I can't!" Danny exclaimed. "How are you doing all of this?"

"Years of intensive, disciplined and often glorious practice, child," the ghost said. "Something that you, unfortunately, have no time for."

The four copies raised their arms and fired identical purple blasts at Danny, who cried out in pain as they connected with his body. He fell to the ground; pink smoke emanating from him.

Danny stood shakily to face the ghost, which had reorganized itself into one entity. The ghost raised its arms and fed purple ectoplasm into them, creating twin orbs of energy. Danny gasped as they were fired at him and cried out in pain as they connected with his face, sending him flying back into a book case. It shook from the collision and toppled down upon Danny's already weakened form.

The ghost reached through the fallen shelves and grabbed Danny by the back of his neck. She pulled him through the debris and smiled.

"Kids these days," she muttered to his battered body. "They just don't know, well, _anything_!"

Danny groaned as the ghost flew up into the center of the room. She let go of the child and punched him in the abdomen, causing Danny to hurtle at a wall. The ghost woman pummelled him with ecto-beams intending to knock him unconscious, but Danny held on, He made himself intangible at the last second and passed through the stone which he was intended to splatter into, but crashed into the floor on the other side. Cuts and scrapes dotted his face and his suit was torn from the fight. Green blood seeped through the wounds and Danny fought to remain conscious despite the pain.

The ghost fazed through the wall after him and smiled as the silver-green ring formed at his waist and split in two. After they completed their pass, Phantom had been transformed him back into Danny Fenton. The ghost squinted her eyes.

"Skulker," she said to seemingly nobody. "Did you record all of that?"

"I did," replied the deep disembodied voice of the mercenary. "You know, I've done he calculations and if you keep spending money on recording devices, you will lose your multi-billionaire status in approximately-"

"Skulker, please. We have more pressing issues. Were there any spikes in his core?"

Skulker went over the data. "Yes, although I can't tell what exactly was coming from it. I suppose it might've been the same energy that caused him to go berserk when Ember had him under her spell."

"A pity that I did not get to experience that firsthand," the ghost said disappointedly. "Get him back to his room and send the birds to clean the mess in the library. Tomorrow is a day of monumental importance and it would please me if nothing were to ruin it."

"As you command," Skulker replied. He scooped up Danny in his mechanical arms and flew off to return the child to his room.

The ghost scowled and a black-purple ring formed at her waist. It split in two and traveled along her body in a vertical direction, speeding away from the other half. Where the ghost was standing only moments before now stood Vanessa Masters.

"Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow everything will come to order."

* * *

From his vantage point outside a large window, an armored figure looked in at the scene unfolding within the castle. He watched the battle with fascination, taking note of the fighting styles of both of the combatants. Of course, the young man barely had a chance to defend himself against the woman's onslaught. After the two had fazed through the room, the armored figure floated up silently through the air and touched down atop the stone structure. He approached his armored stallion which sported a pair of reptilian wings and a horn in the center of its head. He mounted his steed and spurred it into the night sky. The man had tried to find a solution to his predicament that would allow him to avoid physical confrontation, but conspiring events were pushing him to do just that. He was the Turpetrator, however, and if he was forced to do battle then battle he would. 

To Be Continued

_A/N: So, there's Phantom's encounter with Plasmius and another little semi-intro for the Turpetrator. The name is cool, but believe it or not, he isn't an OC. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out who he evolved (in my mind) from, and I even mentioned him in a previous segment. Anyway, I was hoping that my people at DA would have the pictures up that I asked them to draw, but I guess they need more time. I posted sketches I did pf them, so go take a look at those (my DA account name is_ Magnus-7_, in case I haven't said it enough times) and others._

_For the record, I thought I should point out that Danny doesn't call himself_ Danny Phantom _in his ghost form. He simply goes by_ Phantom. The _same applies to _Plasmius_. I know, the show is called_ Danny Phantom _and it is quite stupid not to call the main character by the name he was given. I have a funny (well, maybe not funny) story to go with that one. You can expect to see Phantom add Danny to his title about the same time he meets Desiree. Plasmius will add the Vanessa to her's in due time as well._

_I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you can find it in your heart to leave a review. Believe it or not, I do read them. If I find it necessary, I respond to some as well. Since we're on the topic of you Elite who not only read my story, but review it as well, I would like to thank you personally, especially _chaotic-kit, slyfoxx, HiddenAuthor, Arabic Blessing, Pieling, The Fluff Ghost, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, Skye-chan _and_ titanfan.

_**It's understood, I do it for da hood!**_


	26. Hostile Introductions 6

Chapter XXXIII

Danny opened his eyes in horror. He sat up slowly, realizing he was back in the bed he had occupied prior to his serving of whoop-ass.

"Whoa", he asked to seemingly no one. "What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," came the eerily cold voice of Vanessa Masters as she stepped out from the shadows.

"Oh," Danny said, realizing he truly didn't have an explanation himself. It was a poor basis to form a lie from. "I-it must've been a bad dream. I'll be ok, sorry for the scare!"

"Oh what's a little scare between friends, hmm? Sleep tight, _little badger_," she said reassuringly as she exited the room.

Vanessa closed the door behind her and smiled. Every wound that she had inflicted had healed miraculously, almost as if they had been made years ago. From all of the data she had gathered from her research, any traces of the battle scars would be gone by the next day; perhaps within the next few hours.

The woman traversed the halls of her castle by instinct, too absorbed in thought to guide her own body. Danny displayed extraordinary healing powers, even when he was in his human form. It was not to say that he was invincible by any means, though. The fusion ghost gorilla-squid had succeeded in killing him. However, Vanessa was now thankful that Tucker Foley was a smart child. She slipped a vile of green liquid from her pocket and examined it closely. Another grin graced her elegant face. Phantom's DNA was, quite possibly, the key to perfecting her Plasmium Matter.

Vanessa arrived at two large wooden doors and fazed through them. She set the vile on a stand that hung from the wall and approached her massive bed, easily twice the perimeter of a king-sized bed. She turned intangible, allowing her work clothes to fall from her slender form to the floor. The formfitting, scarlet underclothes lined with silver lace remained on her person. She smiled as the attire came off of her body. That particular trick was no small undertaking, and it was a wonder to use, not to mention convenient. Living alone, with the exception of the occasional swarm of butlers and maids, did have its perks.

She climbed into the bed, finding just the right spot on the mattress made by her spectral specialist on all things comfortable. The Box Ghost knew more about cubes than just the cardboard ones and she was extremely appreciative of it. Pulling the maroon down-comforter up to her chin, Vanessa began to drift off. She had set her revenge scheme into motion, beaten the living crap out of a child and resurrected a dead ghost; another typical day at the Masters' residence.

* * *

Danny somersaulted into the library, an ecto-SMG held in each hand. He stopped the roll with his right foot, assuming a kneeling position and swept the room with the weapons. Upon seeing no ghost, Danny clipped the weapons to his pants and stood from the floor. He began examining the room closely, noting with some degree of confusion and awe that any trace of the battle the night before had been swept away. Half an hour crept by and Danny sat on a couch, hanging his head in defeat. There were no clues to use to his advantage. The ghost knew _of_ him, she knew _about_ him, but perhaps worst of all, she had _defeated_ him. Danny remembered waking in the middle of the night as a human, which meant that the ghost had obviously seen him transform. 

If the ghost knew about his ghost half, it would obviously put that knowledge to good use. It might even reveal his secret to the public. Danny sighed and stood from the couch he had sat down on. Maybe there was something- anything- in another room. He left the library and set out to explore the rest of the mansion.

* * *

"So you say that the ghost boy is somehow in cahoots with your son?" Vanessa asked interested. She had figured Maddie, being as intrusive and stubborn, would make some sort of a connection, but the simple, blissful Jack? "How intriguing." 

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Jack said. "I mean, sure, we found stuff Phantom used in Danny's room, but we really don't have any proof-"

"Honey, we have _plenty_ of proof," Maddie interrupted. Her gaze was focused on her husband, so she didn't notice the angry glare Vanessa sent her. "We both analyzed the contents of the Fenton Thermos; you remember what was in there. That trench coat had ectoplasmic blood on it and not all of it was from that other ghost. Those guns I found in Danny's closet had finger smudges, but not prints, which means that whoever was using them was wearing gloves. Since Phantom wears gloves and Danny has never used those before in his life, I think it's a fair bet to say that they're somehow connected."

_You'll never really know just how close, though, will you?_ "Well, if I may interject," Vanessa said. "Why not simply confront Danny about this? It could be serious!"

"We thought about it and we almost did," Jack said. "But nowadays his grades are beginning to slip, he's getting to classes late or just not showing up at all and he seems so exhausted half the time. Quite frankly, we're not entirely sure how he'd react to something serious like that. But with all the stuff going on with him, you'd think _he's_ the ghost kid!"

Maddie and Jack looked at each other before bursting out into hysterical laughter.

"What is so funny?" Vanessa asked, slightly annoyed by their reaction.

"Oh come on, V!" Maddie said while trying to catch her breath. "You know that nobody can be half human and half ghost! That's just ridiculous!"

"Yeah Vanessa," Jack said while wiping a tear from his eye from the outburst of laughter. "I mean, what you're proposing just isn't very good science."

The billionaire considered transforming right in front of the couple and blasting Maddie's head off of her shoulders, but decided not to. She glanced at her watch, which read 5:30. The old college friends had taken a ride around the countryside chauffeured in one Vanessa's many personal limousines. The ride had lasted several hours after breakfast and the end of the drive was intended to coincide with the arrival of the caterers. It had, but Vanessa guessed that nobody would enjoy the sight or smell of burning human flesh. If that was to be avoided, then Vanessa needed to end the conversation.

"I suppose it isn't," she said. "But we can discuss this at a later time. I think it would be in everyone's best interest to prepare for the reunion. The guests will be arriving shortly."

Vanessa escorted the couple to her personal dressing room, complete with a full length mirror and ten individual changing closets. After making sure they were situated, the billionaire made for the social hall, where the reunion was to be held. The caterers were working alongside the butlers and maids to organize the tables where the food and beverages were to be placed. The expensive and ornate Oriental rug that adorned the floor was cautiously being transported to another section of the house to prevent it from being torn to shreds by the guests, who would either have no appreciation for such fine craftsmanship, no talent at dancing, become too inebriated to move properly or combine all three into some horrible warped mentality. Her rug was just too precious to risk, so the party-goers would have to settle for a wooden floor.

It wasn't long before everything had been set into place. Skulker had occasionally stopped by, giving reports on the ecto-squid's post-vital signs and her condors had perfected their part in the scheme. This evening would yield a most interesting series of events, both in and against the favor of Plasmius.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Ok, sorry for the wait, but I've been kinda busy lately. I've got SAT's tomorrow, and that will be the third time I've taken them, so I'm less than enthused. Also, your beloved Grumbles had a a bit of an altercation with the authorities. It seems as though I have a knack for going a smidgen too fast, so my parents are a bit upset. The officer who pulled me over (he didn't have to use the sirens, thank God) was nice about it, but my mom was a bit shook up. I won't give specifics, but suffice to say I was going fast enough to warrant a hearing in Juvie Court. I'm a law abiding citizen! Sure, I listen to pirated music my friend downloads off the internet and maybe I borrow a pen here or there and forget to give it back, but that doesn't mean I'm a criminal! So, because of my_ Need For Speed_ (all rights reserved) I might, and probably will, lose my liscense. Of course, this means I don't have to pay for gas, won't have to worry about curfew and all I have to put up with is a lecture from some judge and no car for however long he decides. That's life, well, my life anyway. I hope your lives are full of law-abidingness and such._

_Maybe this chapter isn't the most lengthy, descriptive or interesting, but I promise it will pick up from here. I want to thank all of you who reviewed, especially_ angel4u185, leadfoot352, Sapphire Wolf Master, Pieling, Arabic Blessing, Skye-chan, The Fluff Ghost, TDG3RD, HiddenAuthor, slyfoxx, ShiroAndFubuki, Naomi-Yuko, darkbunny92 _and _chaotic-kit.

**_ALL Y'ALL ARE SUPPORTIVE!_**


	27. Hostile Introductions 7

Chapter XXXIV

Danny followed behind his father and mother as they descended the elaborately decorated staircase that connected the expansive second floor of Vanessa's castle to the homely foyer. Guests were still arriving, quickly entering the castle to escape the chilly night sky. Danny walked in a slouch; his head hung low in discontent.

"Come on, Danny," Jack said jovially. "Cheer up! I want to make a good impression on everyone. Who knows, maybe you'll meet someone's daughter!"

"I think the Evans' have a daughter his age," Maddie said to Jack. "Or maybe that pretty Mary Jane girl-"

"Mom!" Danny exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry sweetie," she whispered. "I forgot about Sam."

Danny turned a shade of red that would've made a rose jealous. "Just don't embarrass me," Danny said as they reached the social hall where the party was going on. "In return, I won't slouch."

Jack, who was about to point out a prospective girlfriend for his son, froze. "Alright, deal," he said quietly.

Danny stood up, smoothed out his jacket, straightened his tie and strolled into the room after his parents, beaming at everyone who so much as looked in his general direction.

* * *

Vanessa watched from across the room, glaring at Maddie with contempt. She continued glaring until a familiar tingling sensation ran up her spine. The back of her head pulsates ever so slightly, but it was just enough to feel. Alerted of Skulker's presence from her ghost sense, Vanessa was not surprised when a hushed voice spoke from seemingly nowhere. 

"Ma'am, I have a status report," Skulker said.

"Continue."

"Squidward is awake and fully functional. However, there were some . . . setbacks."

"Elaborate," Vanessa growled through clenched teeth. The procedure should have gone off without a hitch.

"Squidward now has an insatiable hunger."

"How do you know?"

"He ate his way out of the holding cell. He ate the computers in the lab and would've eaten the lab itself if I hadn't intervened."

"Where is it?"

"Unconscious in the room where he is supposed to be. If I may make an observation?"

"Of course."

"I'm not sure how long my spectral paralysis ray can keep Squidward incapacitated. If he wakes up before he is supposed to, there could be dire consequences. I recommend putting your plan into action now. The sooner this is over, the sooner any damage can be dealt with."

Vanessa rubbed her temples. This entire scheme was falling apart at the seams. She had hoped to lull everyone into a false sense of security or inebriated everyone over twenty one years of age before she acted. Unfortunately, neither would happen with the time she had been given.

"Very well. Take your position, Skulker. You know what to do."

"As you command," the mercenary said as he flew off.

Vanessa let out a heavy sigh, perked up and sauntered through the room, weaving past guests and occasionally stopping to say a quick hello. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally stumbled upon the Fentons, who were currently being bored to death by none other than Harriet Chin, journalist for the Milwaukee Journal and one time competitor for Jack Fenton's affection. While Vanessa still had a pulse, or means to survive without one, Harriet would never progress past the position she had held for the past decade, despite her incredible skill.

"Hello there!" Vanessa said cheerfully. "You're all looking wonderful this evening!"

Danny, upon seeing a fourth member of the chatting circle appear, grumbled something about stupid old people and their reunions as he slipped away to get some punch. Vanessa smirked, but remained with her old friends, falsifying normalcy. After tonight, there would be no such thing.

* * *

Danny sipped the fruit punch from his plastic cup, scowling at the other adults in the room. He glanced to his left, seeing his parents, Miss Chin and Miss Masters still wasting the present while talking about the past. He looked to his right and saw a line of children ranging from what could have been five to seventeen years old. They all wore identical expressions to his and they all were sipping punch from plastic cups. They seemed to notice his gaze and all of them returned it simultaneously. He smiled sheepishly. 

"So," he said. "Anyone remotely enjoying themselves?"

"No," came the unanimous reply.

"Anyone come here willingly?"

"No," sang the monotonous chorus.

Danny grinned mischievously. "Does your mother know you're gay?"

"No- wait!" the line of disgruntled adolescents became a very upset gang in seconds. Danny chuckled nervously. He took several steps back, preparing to run if the need be, but he bumped into someone.

"Hello sweetie," Vanessa said. "I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor!"

The group of angry, tired children glared at Danny as they dispersed, obviously not wanting to anger the hostess of the party.

"Sure Miss Masters, but call me Danny. Sweetie is what my mom calls me."

"Of course. I was wondering if you could go into my private study, up the stairs, eighth door on the left, and get something for me. It's a gift for your parents, but I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, sure! I'll be right back."

Danny turned and ran from the room, thankful to be free of the horrible dancing and music the adults were dancing to. Danny followed the instructions given to him, ascending the stairs and walking through the eerily quiet and dark halls until he reached the eighth door. He saw there was already a light on inside and he stepped into the room. The interior made him gasp.

Lining the walls were hundreds of tubes, wires, pipes and computer panels. Large containers that towered over him were filled with some strange deep purple substance.

"Private study?" Danny wondered out loud. "More like bio-chemical weapon plant. Then again, she is a billionaire. If she wants to study around potentially volatile substances, then it is not my place to judge." Danny looked around the room, careful not to touch anything. "Man, I don't see a present anywhere."

Danny stopped in front of a wooden desk. It looked oddly out of place, which was probably why Danny stopped to look at it closely in the first place. He bent over to look at the single object on the desk; a framed picture. It showed a younger Jack Fenton with his burly arms wrapped around two women. Danny recognized the one as a younger Vanessa, but the top corner of the picture was missing, along with the head of the second woman. Danny looked closer at the picture. The tear looked oddly familiar, but Danny couldn't put his finger on it. Of course, his finger found its way.

Danny's eyes shot open and he shoved his hand into his pocket. He fished out the scrap of the photo he had gotten from the condors and fumbled to get it right side up. He held it up to the glass frame with a trembling hand. It fit perfectly.

"What the hell?" Danny stumbled back, dropping the scrap of the picture on the desk. As he stepped away from the desk, his ghost sense went off; the green mist alerting him to the presence of a nearby ghost. Danny transformed into Phantom silently, letting the silver green rings to the work instead of his mouth. After the transformation was complete, Danny looked around for the spectral interloper, only to be violently grabbed by a familiar noodly appendage. The stench of rotten fish and sea water assaulted his nostrils and Danny looked up in horror at the gaping mouth of the ecto-squid.

"No freaking way."

To Be Continued

_A/N- Short? Yes. I apologize, but the next chapters will hopefully make up for it. I've decided on what baddies will make appearances next and I have three picked out. Two in one segment and one in the segment following the conclusion of this one. I won't hint at anyone, and if my progress is any indication, you shouldn't base it on who the bad guy is in the episode od_ DP _after_ Bitter Reunions. _Just know that they'll be **GRUMBLIZED**_(tm)_ for my fic and you'll hardly recognize them._

_Thanks to my reviewers (260, FTW!) who give me the motivation to keep going (yes, I _am_ still going). Special thanks goes out to _angel4u185, Pieling, Arabic Blessing, ShiroAndFubuki, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Skye-chan, TDG3RD, darkbunny92, The Fluff Ghost, eternalLament43 and lunerfox.

_SUPER special thanks goes out to_ Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, _whose penname is as big as her heart. Thank you for leaving 34 reviews in rapid succession, as I was utterly dumbfounded seeing the review count increase by thirty in the time it usually takes me to get ten for a single chapter._

_One more thing. I'm not sure if anyone interpreted the mentioning of the Dingleburgs in _Hostile Introductions 3_ as a possible basis for a future crossover, but at that point I beileve I told one or more people that there would be no crossovers. Funny story, actually. For future reference, I kinda lied about that. I can guarantee, though, it will be the LAST thing anyone expects. And it won't interfere with the story line at all! Hooray for you!_

_**DO A BARREL ROLL!**_


	28. Hostile Introductions 8

Chapter XXXV

Danny clapped his hands together over his head. When the two palms filled with ectoplasmic energy collided, a massive stream of energy shot upward, slamming into the rapidly descending form of Squidward. The beast roared in fury as the beam struck. It circled around and charged again, gliding around the room as if the air was water.

"Oh man," Danny muttered as he rolled out of the way of a strafing attack. "He's moving _fast_. What was that thing that squids use to move around?"

Danny flew into the air and fired an ecto ray at the squid's only eye. It bellowed in pain as its body dissipated into a cloud of dark blue gas. The cloud passed over Danny and reformed behind him.

"It started with a **T** . . . maybe it was the tentacles!" Danny fired blasts of energy at the squid's appendages, but found to his horror that the blasts only angered the beast. Squidward wrapped one of the snakelike arms around Danny's neck and squeezed. "Oh no," Danny said angrily. "Not this trick again."

He shut his eyes tightly, but the glow of his green irises shone through his eyelids. The glow appeared around his body, encasing him in a supernatural aura. The slimy arm began to sizzle and the squid withdrew it quickly. Danny hovered back and opened his eyes. The green glow had completely covered them and it was spreading all over his body. His hair, his costume and even his skin glowed the ethereal color before Danny launched himself at his adversary. Squidward barely had time to react as the green torpedo slammed into his body. The squid was thrown back where it splattered against the sterile white wall and sprayed blue goo across the surface.

"Oh wait," Danny said as his ghost form returned to normal. "It was the siphon, which starts with **S**. Coincidentally; the word _suck_ also starts with **S**. And squid guy? You really do suck."

Squidward lazily floated off the wall and tried to swat Danny with a tentacle, but the ghost child fired a beam of energy from his finger, severing the offending section of the appendage. Squidward grunted from pain and exhaustion and fell to the ground, much to Danny's enjoyment. He was prepared to gloat over the fallen squid when the green nasal mist of his ghost sense spewed from his nose.

"If you were as good at mathematics and grammar as you are at fighting, school would _hardly_ be a problem for you," Skulker said from the shadows.

"Skulker?" Danny asked in surprise. "What are you doing here? How did you get your suit back? Wait, I are good at spelling and grammar!"

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure you'll figure out the answers to your first two inquiries momentarily," Skulker said. "However, I cannot have you prancing about this castle as of now, so you have two options-"

"Hey, I do _not_ prance."

"Option one," Skulker continued, ignoring him. "You can agree to stay here and wait for my employer. Option two is slightly more painful . . . and amusing."

"How can something be painful _and_ amusing?"

"I'm glad you asked." Skulker pulled a small cube from his belt and threw it at Danny. Hard. It smacked into his skull and fell to the floor. Danny rubbed his head and prepared to counter the attack, but the cube suddenly expanded and encased Danny inside.

"So, this is _option two_? Trap me in a box?"

Skulker pressed a button on his forearm and a surge of electricity poured into Danny's body. "See, what I meant by painful and amusing was painful for _you_ and amusing to _me_." Skulker laughed as Phantom writhed and cried out in pain. "Oh, I could watch this all night!"

"Sadly, if you continue this torture, Daniel here will die and nobody will get to enjoy seeing him suffer. And if he dies, _you'll_ be the one in the box."

Skulker slowly turned to face Vanessa, who was standing in her human form in the doorway. "Of course, madam," the mercenary said humbly.

Skulker tapped the button on his forearm again and the electric surge ceased. Danny panted in relief and let his head rest on the cold steel surface of the cube. The electrical surge had forced the transformation back to his human form.

"You know how to reach me if you require more of my services," Skulker muttered. "I am departing for the Himalayas for more research on the elusive Purple-Back Gorilla."

Vanessa nodded as Skulker floated up off the floor and ascended into the air, through the ceiling and into the night.

"I'm impressed, little badger," Vanessa snarled. "You're still _conscious_."

Danny warily lifted his head to face the woman, who stepped from the shadows and advanced towards him. "Miss Masters?" he groaned. "Skulker? Ecto-squid?"

"Are the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place inside that infantile mind of yours?" Vanessa asked. "No, I highly doubt that. You, who can barely scrape out a **C **average in high school, couldn't begin to fathom what I am truly doing here. I was hoping the second ghost-hybrid would be just as smart as the first, but I assume Maddie's treachery interfered with Jack's brilliance once again."

"What do you mean the _second_?"

Vanessa grinned maliciously as a dark purple-black ring formed at her waist and split in two. The rings passed over her body until they dissipated; leaving the ghost that had beaten Phantom within in inch of his afterlife the night before.

"You!" Danny growled.

"Surprised? Really Daniel, I left plenty of evidence hoping that you'd at least _try_ to draw the right conclusion."

"When I had my accident in the lab," Danny said in frustration, "I almost **died**. I can't imagine too many other people going through the same thing and having the same results."

"And now your narrow-mindedness had cost you a strategic advantage."

"How so? I'd say you're the one who lost an advantage by revealing yourself to me."

"Life is like chess, Daniel, it was an acceptable tactical loss. Of course I'm assuming that you, like your wretched mother, you're good at neither chess _nor_ life."

"Are you calling my mom a fizzle?" Danny asked angrily.

"You catch on quickly, don't you? You see, that tragedy in the lab all those years ago gave me these powers. Your father's work was ground breaking, even for these times! Can you imagine a doorway that connects our world to another world in an entirely different dimension? A world where the testing of nuclear weapons could go on unhindered by government regulations? A world where the waste of our planet could go to keep future generations healthy and strong and free of harmful pollutants? The portal project was the solution to almost every problem that the world could throw our way!"

Vanessa floated over to the cube that encased Danny inside and grabbed the sides of his head bringing her pale blue face level with his. Her red eyes bore into Danny's head, staring into his very soul. Danny tried to look away, but her gaze was hypnotizing and, despite his best efforts, he couldn't move.

"Your father could have attained what men have tried for centuries to ascertain. _World peace_." Danny watched as a glowing tear trickled from the ghost woman's eye and sped down her face. She withdrew from her uncomfortably close proximity to the boy and floated back. "Your despicable mother wouldn't have any of it! She always had to put herself out, drawing Jack's attention away from his tasks. If it wasn't for her, Jack would be wealthier than I could even _begin_ to imagine."

"You couldn't get my dad, with all of his bumbling and blathering or the success he _might_ have had, and you blame my mom? I'm detecting a lot of insecurity here, Vanessa, so howsabout you let me out of this thing and we'll talk?"

The ghost growled and lunged at Danny, grabbing his face with her hand. She fed ectoplasm into it and watched as the pinkish aura around her hand began to burn into Danny's face. He cried out in pain as his skin began to melt away under her iron grip. "I could end you right now, you sniveling child," she hissed. "But you're of no use to me _completely_ deceased."

She let go of Danny's face and smirked as the smell of burning skin filled her nostrils. The cartilage of Danny's nose and most of his jawbone were visible, and the open wounds were bleeding profusely. His head slumped down onto the box again and his bloodshot eyes rolled back into his head. Vanessa tapped a button on the side of the box, which caused it to retract into its smaller cube form. The ghost picked it up off the floor and placed it on a nearby counter. She took one last glimpse at Danny and noted with astonishment as his flesh was already beginning to rebuild over the wounds. With a contented smile, the ghost slowly began to disappear through the floor. There was work to be done for Plasmius, and the night was young.

To Be Continued

* * *

_AN_

_Short? Yes. Like the other short chapters in this story, however, it contains a significance that most of the longer ones lack. _

_Now I'm sure you've all been wondering where the hell I've been these past few months. To tell you the truth, I've been distracted. I'm not entirely sure where my life wa when I departed from FF, but I remember something about a speeding ticket . . . anyway, there was the end of my first quarter, which ended in First Honors, which wa the first time I recieved it since fourth grade. Needless to say, my parents were very proud. Around that time, my friend's mother died from breast cancer, if my memory serves me correctly. From those hard times, things progressively got better. Weekends were spend playing_ Rainbow 6 _with friends and playing poker. Things were looking up until even more trajedy struck. Another one of my friends committed suicide on the 30th._ Kennedy Catholic High School _is not in the best shape in the 2006-2007 school year._

_Never has the cancellation of this story, or my other one, been an option for me. I'll continue writing for my friend who took his own life, for my other friend's mother whose life was taken and all of the faithful departed who have transcended the earthly realm to attain eternal peace with the Lord. I hope you'll all stick with me, because updates will not be frequent as I'm sure you'd all like. Hell, I'd like it too._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I apologize for the lack of individual acknowledgement. I encourage you to read this story, review it and even write something of your own. I also ask for your prayers for my friends and their families in these times of hardship. They need it._

**I THINK WE JUST ACCIDENTIALLY KISSED . . . QUICK, DO SOMETHING MANLY!!!**

_-from the best super bowl commercial yet_


	29. Hostile Introductions 9

Chapter XXXVI

"_I say, child, wake up! Wake _up_, damnit!"_

Danny's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry. His head throbbed with a migraine like no other and his face felt like it had been plunged into a volcano. "Oh man," he moaned. "What the heck was-"

Danny froze mid-sentence. His vision had returned enough to reveal to him the massive form of what was undoubtedly a ghost. Of course, green-skinned humanoid specters usually weren't hulking seven foot tall spirits of men adorned with ghastly otherworldly garbs and jewels.

"W-who are you," he asked apprehensively. In his experience, any ghost that wasn't himself was out to get him.

"I am the late Dairy King," the ghost announced. His deep voice echoed with the ghostly tone that accompanied most of the ghosts, but seemed to reverberate around the very room. "And you are lucky to be alive, child."

"And let me guess, _my luck just ran out_, right?"

"What would give you such-"

"Well I didn't come all this way to get my butt kicked by a billionaire who wants to whack my mom to get with my dad just to be killed by some fruit loop in a cape!" Danny transformed into his other self and threw himself at the ghost standing before him.

"Now I regret waking you," the Dairy King muttered. He grabbed Phantom's outstretched fist before it could impact his square jaw. "I am not here to fight you," the ghost assured. "I wish to assist. Now relax."

An orange glow spread from the Dairy King's fist and filled Phantom's body. He felt himself slump in the air and he was gently lowered to the ground.

"What was that?" Danny asked befuddled.

"Ginseng," the ghost replied with a smirk. "Honestly, you don't expect me to calm you with Gouda?"

"Well, now that you mention it . . ."

"Never mind that, you have more serious issues that need to be addressed," the Dairy King said dismissively.

"Such as?"

"The lives of your parents, sister and the other innocents in this castle. Plasmius is going to kill them all if we do not defeat her."

"_We_? I never even landed a punch on that ghost!"

The ghost grinned. "You don't have to." The grin subsided quickly. "I dwelled in this place as a spirit with the soul of my father, the Dairy King before myself, for almost half a century. Plasmius entered our estate, much to his surprise, and transformed it into her own. When he tried to protest, she captured him and subjected him to unspeakable torture. He died a death crueler than any creature deserves to die, which is why you shall not engage the she-devil. My father deserves revenge, and _I _shall exact it from Plasmius' corpse!"

Phantom tried to take the king's story in, but the tale was most likely a mere summary of the actual occurrences. "Why do you want to help me? I thought all you ghosts stuck together . . . against me, mostly."

"Well as my father would have said, _'not all ghosts are evil, don'tcha'know'_! Some of us would prefer the peace and tranquility of solace, but Plasmius has robbed me of that and my father of his afterlife. Justice must be served!"

Phantom nodded with satisfaction as his muscles regained their usual sensitivity. He stomped his feet and flexed his biceps. "I agree with you there. Plasmius must be stopped," Phantom said seriously. "No matter the cost. Autobots, transform and roll out!"

The Dairy King raised an eyebrow at Phantom, who furrowed his brow in embarrassment. "Yeah, let's just go."

* * *

Few expect tragedy to strike in the midst of good times, especially not at a college reunion where everyone is filled with happiness, memories and cheap snacks. Even less expect an outside influence to ruin such an occasion. Hardly anyone would think of ghosts as the cause of said problems. 

Of course, _nobody_ expected the Spanish Inquisition . . .

When Harriet Chin was yanked into the air by her waist-length hair and tossed across the room to slam into the wall and slump to the ground with a fractured skull and possibly irrevocable mental trauma, the party goers didn't know what to expect. Two of the graduating class, who had gone on to become successful physicians, rushed to examine their fallen classmate and their heads were slammed together by an unseen force. Panic gripped the room while something else gripped a man by his neck and tossed him out of the second story window. The screaming escalated to such a degree that nobody heard the sound of the body impacting the SUV of the next victim, who was blasted in the face by an invisible fist. Several more people went down simultaneously while pink flashes blasted up into the ceiling, effectively destroying the lighting in the room. The large double doors were slammed shut, breaking the neck of an unfortunate person trying to escape. Amidst the panic, only two people were calm. Jack and Maddie Fenton, equipped with ecto-goggles and retractable wraith rifles, were scanning the room, silently taking out the ghouls that were wounding and killing those hapless men and women who were oblivious to their surroundings.

To Jack and Maddie, it might as well have been an agreeable Christmas. Ghosts were literally pouring from the floor and ceiling, providing excellent targets for both ghost hunters. The number of the ghouls thinned and, realizing a tactical disadvantage, eventually dispersed.

"You think that was all of them, baby?" Jack asked. He was met with silence. "Maddie? MADDIE!"

Jack spun around in time to see a trace of ectoplasm slither through the wall before him. Tuning his goggles to the highest sensitivity and charging his rifle to full power, Jack began to blast his way forward, desperate to save his wife.

* * *

Phantom and the Dairy King passed through several walls until they came to a corridor. The Dairy King had stopped and Phantom followed suit. 

"Which way do we go?" he asked.

"Shhh, listen!" the elder ghost whispered. "Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear any-" Phantom froze as the strangest sound he had ever heard echoed through the halls, piercing his ears. It sounded like a horse, a large bird and a dinosaur all trying to shout over each other simultaneously. "What is that?"

"One of Plasmius' twisted creations," the ghost replied in a hushed tone. "I shall go scout her location; you can fend off this behemoth."

"Behemoth?" Phantom shouted after the Dairy King. "Aren't those supposed to be big?"

After the ghost had fazed through a wall, Phantom turned his attention to the sound in time to see a peculiar head peek from around a corner. It was attached to a neck that was unmistakably a giraffe's, but the head itself sported several feathers atop it along with four pairs of eyes and drooling mandibles. Two spider legs grasped onto the corner of the wall, followed by two more and the creature pulled itself forward, revealing a set of massive wings tucked neatly along its body. The hind legs of an alligator pushed the creature into full view, dragging the sluggish reptilian tail behind it.

"A spider, a giraffe, an eagle and an alligator all mixed together? I shall call you . . . the _Girreagillader_! Come forth and do my bidding!"

The creature bellowed and charged at Phantom, who screamed and fazed through the floor. He came up behind the creature and fired a beam of energy at its back. The leathery skin of the alligator portion protected the creature from injury. The beam only served to anger it.

"I guess you're too powerful for- WHAT IS THAT?" Phantom cried pointing down the hallway.

The girreagillader snapped its head in the direction of Phantom's pointed finger, giving the ghost child enough time to come in and deliver a kick to the girreagillader's head forceful enough to knock it out cold.

"That's it? I've fought monkeys tougher than you," Phantom gloated. "Of course, it was more like one monkey, which was a huge ghost gorilla with tentacles, but that's beside the point."

Phantom was prepared to fly off in pursuit of the Dairy King, but something on the girreagillader caught his eye. A small metal rod protruded from the base of its neck and sported a tiny satellite, which sported a small red light.

"I wonder what this thing is . . ." Phantom wondered aloud. He reached down and grabbed it, pulling ever so slightly. The small satellite along with its base slid out of the creature's neck and the red light winked out of existence. The girreagillader remained still.

"Big surprise," he grumbled sarcastically. "What does a guy have to do to get some action around here?"

The Dairy King chose that moment to faze out of a wall. "He must stay alive long enough to find it," the ghost said. "Come, Plasmius is headed to the south wall. We must stop her there!"

Phantom blasted off after the Dairy King, who seemed to effortlessly glide through the castle walls. The ghost child, who still struggled with his own powers, was having quite a time following.

* * *

Jack Fenton blasted out another massive hole in the stone castle wall with his rifle and was able to catch a small trace of ectoplasm faze through the wall on the other side. He growled in anger and ran to the wall, firing his weapon only to find it was depleted. Furious, Jack discarded his weapon and launched himself at the stone barrier. His fist impacted the stone, causing the wall to shudder from the impact. Jack kept pounding on the wall until his bleeding hands were too pained to continue. He stepped back, ignoring the pain, and ran at the wall. He propelled himself into the air and outstretched his foot. 

The momentum blasted his three hundred and fifty pound form right through the stone wall, which was over three feet thick. Jack looked up from his landing position and glared death at the ghost that floated before him, holding his beloved wife by her neck.

"Jack Fenton, world renowned expert on all things ghostly," Plasmius recited. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Give me back my wife, you damned ghost!" Jack bellowed.

Plasmius sneered. "Why? What has _she_ ever done for you? This creature doesn't even deserve to be called a woman!"

"That's my wife, you useless pile of goo!"

"No, this is what's _left_ of your wife," Plasmius said maliciously. She began to feed ectoplasm into her hand and smiled as the effects became apparent to Jack Fenton.

"Get away from her!" he roared. Jack charged at Plasmius and slammed his fist into her head, much to her surprise. "I'll rip out those ghastly eyes of yours and frame them on my mantle!"

"You will try," Plasmius corrected. She backhanded Jack and sent him sailing across the room, crashing to the ground with a thud. "But ultimately fail, just like you did with your pitiful excuse for a wife."

Jack rose from the floor and looked at the unmoving form of Maddie. "No," he whispered. "What have you done?"

"I'll tell you what she's not going to do," said another voice. Jack and Plasmius both looked in the direction of the sound to find Phantom floating in front of the late Dairy King. "And that's hurt anyone else while-" the ghost child's eyes settled on the form of his mother, lying on the ground with an open wound on her neck. His face contorted with pain as he floated down next to her, tears flowing down his face.

"Now you see the error of your ways, _hero_," Plasmius taunted. "This woman is going to die, and your ridiculous chivalry is the cause."

"His chivalry is why the human race has inspiration to live," the Dairy King chimed in. "And you would destroy him, just like you did my father. This time," the Dairy King stretched out his hand and a massive scepter appeared from thin air and he grasped it in his large hand. "I'm not going to stand by and watch!"

Plasmius scowled as the Dairy King lunged at her. She fired at him with ghost rays, but they were expertly swatted away by the staff. The hulking ghost kicked Plasmius in the abdomen, sending her back several feet. He raised his scepter over his head and brought it down on Plasmius, but she moved to the left in time to dodge. The Dairy King found this puzzling because she had moved to the right to avoid the attack as well. The two Plasmius copies grinned and raised their hands, glowing with pink ectoplasm and released it.

Phantom was oblivious to the battle that raged on before him. He was kneeling next to his wounded mother, sobbing silently. He didn't even notice Jack Fenton creep up next to him until the large hand rested on his shoulder. Phantom looked with pained eyes at Jack, who had crocodile tears of his own pouring down the side of his face.

"Jack," Maddie squeaked out between labored breaths. "Is that you?"

"Yeah baby, it is," Jack croaked. "Don't worry, everything's gonna b-be alright."

Maddie grinned slightly. "I can . . . tell when you're . . . lying, Jack." Her faded gaze switched to Phantom, who managed a slight grin. "And who . . . are you?"

Phantom opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him. More glowing tears trickled down his face. "I'm a big fan," he choked out. "Of both of you."

Phantom placed his hand on the mortal wound on his mother's neck. "This is my fault," he whispered. "If it wasn't for me . . ." Phantom squeezed his eyes tightly, "you'd be ok."

"Child, do not dwell on what has happened," he shouted while deflecting attacks from the two copies of Plasmius. "Use your pain against her! End her tyranny once and for all!"

Phantom could not hear him. The reality of what was happening began to set in, deafening him to the outside world.

"He can't, you oversized trick-or-treater! He has failed," Plasmius split herself into two more copies. "Don't worry, though," all four copies said. "He'll never get the chance to fail again!" The Dairy King ducked as the four copies fired at him and he swatted them all with a swing of his staff, forcing them to recombine. "And neither will you," she added with a snarl.

Phantom's head was filled with "what if" and "if only" scenarios, all of which ended with his mother safely out of harm's way. Phantom wished he had never gotten his powers, even wished he had never been born. He willed his mother to live, to recover from her wound.

"What are you doing?" Jack Fenton whispered through stifled sobs.

Phantom opened his eyes and watched in fascination as a soothing blue aura passed from his hand to Maddie's neck. The open wound slowly began to seal until it vanished completely without as much as a scar in its place.

"Maddie!" Jack cried. "You're alright!"

Maddie smiled weakly. "Thanks to you," she said to Phantom. "You know, you remind me of someone," she pondered, "I just can't put my finger on it."

"Oh, uh, well you'd better get some rest and, um, not think too much," Phantom stammered, his sadness quickly replaced by necessity. "Ghost wounds need, uh, a lot of rest. I know this because I'm a ghost and not a human." Jack, who was still wiping tears from his eyes, and Maddie looked at him in confusion until a pink ectobeam slammed into the ground next to them, rattling their bones. "Da- I mean Jack! Get her out of here! Me and the Dairy King can handle this!"

"Don't you mean the Dairy King and I?" Plasmius roared. "As in the Dairy King and I will get the ectoplasm beaten out of us?"

Phantom turned to see his enemy rush at him and his parents. "Go," he cried turning to them. "RUN!"

Jack hoisted Maddie over his shoulder and bounded from the room. Phantom held his hands out in an attempt to protect himself. He didn't expect to hear a muffled cry come from Plasmius' end. Phantom looked up and grinned to see the woman spread out along a green wall of ectoplasm he had instinctually erected.

"I don't know how you managed to save your mother," Plasmius spat as she circled around, "but I know you won't be saving anyone else, especially not yourself."

Phantom scowled at her, but saw the Dairy King sneaking up from behind. "I don't need to save myself," he countered. "Not when you're the one who needs saving!"

"Oh, here comes the spiritual salvation lecture," Plasmius groaned sarcastically. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard that one."

Phantom's smile grew as the Dairy King smacked her in the back of the head with his scepter. "No, actually I meant _physical_ salvation."

Plasmius careened into the far wall, shattering stone with the impact. The Dairy King hovered down next to Phantom. "I believe the hour of victory is upon us," he said. "Let us exact our victory!"

The two gasped as the wall Plasmius crashed into exploded in a cloud of dust, rock and ectoplasm. A very angry and tattered Plasmius floated from the cloud and set down on the ground. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? Don't you realize you simply cannot win?"

"That doesn't mean I can't try!" Phantom cried as he charged forward.

"To what end?" Plasmius questioned. She sidestepped and grabbed Phantom's arm as his fist swung forward. "This will inevitably result in your demise, surely you realize this?"

"If I can save at least one person, then it'll be worth it."

"I wanted a realist and I got dreamer," Plasmius sighed as she tossed Phantom into a table. "I suppose I can _reeducate_ you."

"You'll die trying, spook!"

"Oh no," Phantom wondered aloud. "Only one person I know says _spook_ like that."

Plasmius, Phantom and the Dairy King all looked at the hole Jack had made in the wall to see Jazz standing with a wraith rifle pointed at Plasmius. She pulled the trigger, but gasped in terrified shock as the firing mechanism clicked, signaling an empty ammo canister. "Oh no," she whispered.

Plasmius tossed her head back and cackled. "This is it? This is all you can do? I pity you hapless fools." She charged up an enormous ball of energy in her hands. "Into oblivion I send you! Say hello to Hayden Christensen for me! Wait, he's not dead . . . _yet_."

Plasmius released the orb of death at the trio, who could only watch as it sped at them, practically eating the air in its path.

If it hadn't been for the huge Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle, the orb would have killed them. The blast smacked into the reflective armor plating of the RV and dissipated. A wide array for weapons ranging from tiny gun barrels to decked-down cannons popped up and opened fire, beating the offending ghost back. Phantom flew over to Jazz and grabbed a hold of her arm, dragging her into the RV.

"Hey! Let me go!"

"You wanna live, or get vaporized?"

Jazz went quiet as she was gently set down in the RV's interior. Phantom took notice that his mother seemed to be in good shape, although still a bit shaky. Phantom left the vehicle and joined the Dairy King in firing his own energy beams into the fray.

"Fentons," Phantom shouted. "Get out of here! We'll finish this up!"

"Not a chance, ghost kid!" Jack's voice called out from a speaker on the side of the vehicle. "We're gonna beat that ghost all the way to . . . some place far away!"

"There are people out there that need your help!" Phantom cried. "They'll die if you don't get out there!"

The weapons on the RV slowed to a stop. After retracting, the RV made a wide U-turn and sped off towards the injured trapped in the castle. Phantom and the Dairy King turned their attention to the smoldering crater in the wall where Plasmius lay in impossible pain.

"The fight is almost won," the King proclaimed. His staff sprouted a curved blade from its tip and he looked at it with satisfaction. "Its time to finish this!"

"Wait, what?" Phantom asked as the Dairy King marched over to the beaten ghost. "Finish what? She's beaten! You don't need to do anything more!"

"She killed my father! She would've killed your mother as well!" the king shouted as he turned to face the boy. "You would let her walk from this?"

"Well, I mean, I wouldn't want her to just walk free, but-"

"Having mercy on this monster is almost as horrendous as her actions," the king said sternly as he maneuvered his scythe around to point the blade at Phantom's throat. "Would you commit such atrocities as well?"

Phantom swallowed nervously. "N-no, never."

The king stared Phantom down before turning around- to receive an ecto-blast to his face.

"You won't lay a single cheesy finger on him. He's _mine_," Plasmius stated coolly.

The Dairy King lay in a heap in the only undamaged corner of the room, unconscious.

"Uh, excuse me? I don't belong to anybody," Phantom protested.

"You have little choice in the matter," Plasmius continued. "There are things about you that intrigue me. Things that require study."

"Yeah, well, you'll have to fight me for them!" Rather than fly forward and attack as was his intention, Phantom felt the surge of energy that formed the silver green ring at his waist. It spread over his body and reverted him back to his human form. "Well that's no good."

"Of course there are many things about you I already know, like how you can barely control your powers in a normal situation, like now, let alone under pressure. If you ever kiss a girl before you turn fifteen, it'll be a testament to the saving power of pure luck."

Danny cocked an eyebrow at the statement.

"But never mind that. Since normally fatal attacks seem to be bumps and scrapes to you, I guess piercing your heart won't do much except cause you pain and knock you out. Now hold still. This _will_ hurt."

Danny held his hands out to protect himself, hoping that he'd be able to conjure up another shield. He heard the blast fire, but the muffled sound of the beam impacting something soft brought him around. In front of him was a wide triangular shape with a feathery pattern. It took a while to realize that it was actually one of the massive wings of the girreagillader.

"What?" Plasmius cried in shock. "What is this?"

"Free will," Danny said happily. The rest of the creature appeared from the floor and stood in front of Danny to protect him. "Get her!"

The beast charged, spitting venom at its creator and bellowing its peculiar cry. Plasmius fired at its four spider legs, successfully incapacitating them. The girreagillader scuttled back, its assault halted and curved its body around to shield the human child. Larger and more powerful blasts hit the beast on its exposed side, tearing through its rough scaly skin. Danny watched in horror as the face of the animal looked at him with all eight eyes. Slowly, one by one, they began to close until only the center two remained. The girreagillader gurgled a defeated tone before the last two eyes fluttered shut.

"You're one heartless bitch, you know that?" Danny shouted as he petted the dead creature's head. Tears were once again trickling down his face.

"Watch your language, Daniel," Plasmius cautioned. "Your little attitude will cost you."

"I guess it already has," Danny said as he transformed back into Phantom. He shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around the girreagillader. "Then again, my life seems to cost me a lot nowadays."

He focused on his healing factor, trying to heal the dead beast. He continued to focus harder and harder. His healing energies were expanding. They spread from Phantom and moved out in an increasing radius, washing over Plasmius, the Dairy King, and even reaching as far as the injured and dead in and around the castle. Wounds were healed, and pain was lifted. When all was said and done, however, the girreagillader was still a dead ghost.

"How very kind of you," Plasmius said. "But I'm afraid that your power has been depleted and this brute is still a lifeless corpse . . . again."

Danny, who had reverted back to his human form again, looked with pained eyes at Plasmius. "Finish it, then."

She smiled and raised a hand, glowing with spectral energy, but was stopped when the Dairy King's scythe cut through her back. The blast went wide and slammed into a wall.

"Go, child, and leave this place," he ordered. "I will finish her."

Danny chose not to object. He stood to shaky feet and stumbled for the large hole the RV had made in the wall as the Dairy King lunged at his wounded adversary. His stumbling became sturdier walking and eventually moved up to running. Danny sprinted through the halls which were showing trace amounts of sunlight as the morning sun began to rise. He saw people along the way rubbing their heads, trying to remember how they got where they were. People were pulling themselves up from awkward positions on the floor, unaware that they were dead only moments before. Danny made it outside and saw one man pulled himself out of a huge dent in the roof of someone else's Hummer. He muttered something about one crazy reunion before making his way to his own vehicle.

Danny spied his family and smiled. They all appeared in good shape, but were confused like everyone else.

"Whoa," Jack said while rubbing his face with his hands, but then realized that they were bruised, scraped and bloody. "What happened last night? That must've been one killer party!"

"Uh, I think one of them spiked the punch," Danny chimed in. "A lot of people were passing out and doing weird things, but I don't think anyone was hurt real bad."

The Fentons looked around at the castle, which sported its share of damage. People everywhere were trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"I don't want to be the spoilsport," Jazz started, "but since we have a bunch of weapons and stuff built into our RV, I have an inkling that we're going to get some of the blame for this if we stick around."

The rest of the Fentons murmured their agreement and hastily climbed into the RV. After making his way around an array of parked vehicles, Jack got the RV on the open road and the Fentons set out for their home.

Danny looked at his mother and father, trying to figure out how they were so calm and so . . . _normal_. Maddie had almost died and Jack was a mess only moments before. Jazz looked like she just woke up, not like a person who barely escaped death without a scratch. His troubled mind was quickly overcome by exhaustion, and he drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"If there's one thing I can agree with you on, I waste too much money on recording equipment," Plasmius sighed. "I discovered what I needed and more, thanks to this little _get together_." 

"What have you concluded?" Skulker inquired.

"Daniel's healing factor makes him almost immortal, which could be a problem in perfecting my plasmium matter. There are other complications may arise from this, but I do not wish to speak of them."

Skulker took a step back. She was obviously speaking of her family, which he learned the hard way was a touchy subject. "What of Squidward and that . . . thing?" he said, hoping to get his employer's mind off the topic of her heritage.

Plasmius looked at the lifeless, ghastly corpse of the girreagillader. "Get him to the dungeon. We will try to reanimate him. Squidward can go to hell for all I care. Some good his _insatiable hunger_ did for us."

"What of the damage to the castle and the party goers?"

"They are leaving on their own and this place can be fixed. Go and fetch those useless condors, I will have them begin reconstruction as soon as the guests are all gone."

Skulker nodded and floated down through the floor. Plasmius watched until he was gone and changed back into her human form and smiled at the lifeless body before her. The Dairy King had been a worthy opponent, but he was ultimately no match for her own prowess. The condors would come in to clean up his body, but the head she held in her hand would go to her trophy case . . . right next to his father.

Vanessa Masters laughed as she walked from the decimated room. There was work to be done, and precious little time to do it in.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_So this chapter was a bit longer than the last one, right? Yeah, it was. I know because it was 10 pages on_ Word_. Anyway, thanks for all your prayers. I hope that they help my friends and their families get through their hard times._

_So, this concludes this section. In nine chapters? Again? A definite pattern. Actually, the first couple times it was completely by accident, but I decided it was a nice even number to work with . . . or odd. You get the point. _

_The next "episode" if you will takes us back to Amity Park. Casper High to be precise. We're going to develop more of Danny's peers! Won't that be fun? Also, I've decided on my revamped Poindexter and Spectra for this part with a little cameo by the Turpetrator and possibly another ghost. Danny will only encounter Poindexter and Spectra, though, so don't anticipate a four-on-one specter brawl. That doesn't happen for a while. I chose Poindexter because I hate him the most and want to get him out of the way. Even my revamp, which is supposed to make everyone less corny and the like, is still pretty boring, but I think you'll be pleased if the earlier chapters are any indication. Spectra's here _because_ of her redesigned character. Seriously, it's gonna be a lot like the "Skulker is Sam's uncle?!?" thing that went on during_ Hearts, Heroes and Harlots.

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially _Andrew Laplante, HiddenAuthor, Sapphire Wolf Master, TDG3RD _and_ Aurineko.

**_SUPER SPECIAL THANKS GOES TO_** slyfoxx, _who showed me an episode of DP that hasn't aired in the US yet! I can't believe Skumber actually made it into the series!_

**IMMA GON SLAP U WIF MY FIN!**


	30. A Learning Experience 1

A Learning Experience

Chapter XXXVII

Danny Fenton, the fourteen year old, half ghost, student, super hero, brother, son, best friend, punching bag was late for school. He had overslept as a result of a lack of sleep brought on by nightmares which were, themselves, a result of the massive battle he had with his new arch nemesis during the weekend before. Wednesday was Hump Day or the middle of the week and the best week day next to Friday for Danny. It would also be the third consecutive time he'd be late for school that week. Flying was out of the question since ghosts seemed less inclined to bother him if they couldn't recognize him. His sister was already at school and his parents worked at home, so they were sleeping.

Careful not to wake them, Danny dressed and gathered his things. After grabbing a piece of burnt toast and some money for lunch he slipped through the door, quite literally, and began his walk to Casper High. He was already late, and there was no point in making himself more tired than he already was by running. The walk to school would have been a pleasant and relaxing one, but Lester Lancer decided to be late that morning as well. He maneuvered his wheelchair down the ramp that had been put in front of his house after the accident that had paralyzed him earlier in the school year.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Fenton!" the jovial educator smiled. "Where are you headed to on this fine morning?"

"To school," Danny answered. "See, I overslept and-"

"Yes, Daniel, I figured as much," Lancer interrupted. "I took the liberty of telling the principal I would be coming in late today so I would be able to catch you on your way to school."

Danny stared at the teacher. "You . . . lied to the school?"

"A little lying is good every now and then. It keeps the wits sharp and usually makes for a good joke later on." Danny smiled and began walking as his teacher moved off in the direction of Casper High. "So I have to ask. What exactly made you late these last few days?"

"I, uh, haven't been sleeping well lately," Danny answered sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his head; and action Lancer had come to suspect meant nervousness. Of course, Lancer had come to suspect other things as well.

"Any particular reason? Maybe I can help; my brother is a sleep doctor."

"Nightmares," Danny blurted out. His eyes shot open wide and he rubbed the back of his neck a bit harder than the last time.

"About what?"

Danny removed his palm from his now chaffed and reddened neck. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, thinking. "About my future," he said at last.

"Nightmares about your future, hmm? Well, you're not the only one," Lancer chuckled. "Anything in particular that seems to stick out?"

"No offense, Mr. Lancer, but I don't really feel comfortable talking about it."

Lancer took a long look at Danny, noticing signs of fatigue and stress that were not present the week before. "That's alright," he said. "You don't have to say anything at all. Just know that I'm here to talk if you ever need to."

Danny gave a small grin. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

The two had finally reached the school and Danny entered the building through the front steps, seeming to have forgotten about his handicapped teacher. Lancer gave a concerned shake of his head as he reached the doors at the end of the ramp. Something was wrong with Daniel, something that seemed to get progressively worse as the weeks had gone by. Lancer wasn't about to stick his nose in any business he wasn't a part of, but if the situation worsened, something would have to be done.

* * *

Danny slumped into his desk in fifth period class. A study hall was the perfect time for a nap, but Danny didn't want to be jolted awake by nightmares like the day before. Much to the fright of the class he had actually broken one of the newer titanium desks issued by the state of California when he was woken up from another nightmare. Unable to think of anything to keep his mind distracted, he let his head smack into the flat surface of his new desk and waited for sleep to come. Instead, a piece of folded paper sailed across the room and hit him in the nose. He picked it up and looked around for a possible culprit, but found none of the usual suspects. He slowly unfolded the piece of paper and discovered tiny purple words written in ink. The handwriting was not discernable, as most of the girls had the same flowery handwriting. 

_Are you ok? You look totally out of it and I just wanted to make sure you weren't freaking out because you totally trashed that desk yesterday and none of the other guys could even get one of them to budge and most of them didn't believe you but it was really cool and if you could get the ghost boy to come and say hi to me sometime that would be sweet of you._

_xoxoxoxoxoxoxo_

_Paulina_

Danny sighed. It figured that she would do something like that. Danny grinned and turned to look around her general area. From his peripheral vision, he could tell she was trying to be covert and spy on him to see what his reaction would be. She was failing miserably. He flared his nostrils and squinted one of his eyes while widening the other. He opened his mouth in a crooked angle, still looking around the room and stuffed the note into his mouth. He chewed for a while and then tilted his head back and swallowed the piece of paper whole. Paulina was no longer trying to be covert and looked right at him with a baffled expression. With his mouth hanging open, Danny tilted his neck to the side until the satisfying feeling of cracking bones reverberated through the back of his skull. The sound echoed out of his mouth and caused several students to look at him in awe and disgust. Paulina held her hand to her mouth and fled from the room. Danny smiled and let his head fall back on the cool steel surface of the desk. He was asleep within minutes.

* * *

_Danny ran as fast as he could straight ahead. His mind was unsure, but his body was confident._

_Run, run, run._

_Danny's mind grew more uncomfortable, the path was dark, and he could barely see a thing, but his body was still sure._

_Run, run, run._

_Danny's mind was sure now that this was too dangerous a path. He warned his body to turn back, but his body was still set._

_Run, run, run._

_Danny's mind was panicking. He was terrified, but his body felt no fear._

_Run. Run. Run._

_At the end of the path was the unmistakably nosferatu-like face of Plasmius, who laughed maniacally as a blinding pinkish light shot forth from her eyes and filled Danny's vision. _

* * *

Danny cried out and squirmed off his seat. He fell to the floor where he woke up in a sweat with his classmates looking at him. He was saved from providing an embarrassing explanation as the lunch bell rang, signaling the start of the lunch period. Danny grabbed his bag and bolted for the door. It was going to be a long rest of the day. 

Thankfully, he made it to lunch without incident and got through the lunch line quickly. Sam had beaten him there and Tucker had already taken his usual spot at their usual indoor table as it was still a bit too chilly to be outside. Danny went through the line, grabbing an apple, one of those weird looking snacks that seem to look exactly the same every single day and reached for the main entrée, a chicken patty sandwich, but checked the motion. Images of the wounded girreagillader staring at him with its wide eyes flashed in his mind, so he picked up a salad instead.

After taking his place at the lunch table, Danny noted that Sam was looking between him and his lunch tray with a smirk of satisfaction.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," she replied, tossing several stray strands of hair out of her face. "I just think I might be rubbing off on you, that's all."

"I just don't feel like eating meat right now," Danny replied lazily.

"Yeah Sam," Tucker chimed in, his mouth full of chicken and bread. "Jusht 'cause Danny'sh no' eatin' mea' righ' now," Tucker finished chewing and swallowed his food, "Doesn't mean that he's gone vegan on us, right dude?"

"Hmm?" Danny said as he looked up from picking at his food. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Ha!" Tucker pumped his fist in the air triumphantly. "Tucker, one, Sam, zero! And the crowd goes wild!"

Sam rolled her eyes and looked at her friend. He wasn't even paying attention as he began picking at the tray, the table and eventually nothing as his fork began to slide.

"Danny, are you sure you're alright? You've told us about the nightmares, but that can't be all."

"Yeah dude, I know that the occasional grape is good for your colon or some bull like that, but you eating nothing but a salad? You're supposed to be the median here!"

"Tuck, I know you don't really care about animals," Danny said at last, placing his fork on his plate and looking at his friends. "And I know Sam scoffs as men having sensitivity, but getting my butt kicked by a billionaire and fighting with the Dairy King weren't the only things that happened last weekend. There was this animal-"

"Was it a cat?" Sam asked.

"Was it a dog?" Tucker prodded.

Danny looked between the both of them. "I can tell you who _isn't_ winning the award for most original ideas this year," he said. "No, it wasn't a cat, no, it wasn't a dog. It was the ghosts of a giraffe, an eagle, a spider and an alligator all combined into one creature. When I was fighting Plasmius, it came in and stood in front of me while she tried to turn me into a red smear and a memory." Danny blinked back a tear. "It died saving me." Tucker looked at the remains of his chicken patty sandwich in his hands and slowly set it down. Sam wrapped her arm around his back and pulled him into a hug. "You have no idea what that feels like, guys. Animals don't even think like people and ghosts are, according to my parents, inherently evil. I just . . . I don't even know what to think."

The trio sat there for a while, Sam holding Danny in a caring embrace and Tucker not knowing what to do with the rest of his lunch, suddenly having lost his appetite.

"Check it out, Kwan," said the obnoxious voice of Dash Baxter. "The lovebirds finally came out of the closet!"

"Dude, that means we were right! Fenton really is a girly man! Get it? Because usually only gay people come out of-"

"Yeah Kwan," Dash sighed. "I get it. But look, aren't they just the happiest looking pair of geeks you ever saw?"

The two laughed as they walked away, fortunately for Danny, whose eyes had begun to glow green. Without warning, he swung around in his seat, nearly uprooting Sam from hers, and tossed his tray like a rectangular Frisbee at the back of Dash's head. It connected, causing the larger boy to lose his balance and fall. The cafeteria gave the usual you're in trouble sound that was accompanied by the all-to-familiar upward inflection. Dash quickly scrambled to his feet and glared at Danny, who stood his ground.

"You like to play rough, do ya, Fenton?" Dash growled.

"I learned from the best," Danny retorted. "In case you're as stupid as you look, I had a really, _really_ bad weekend. And if you wanna take this outside, I'd be glad to dig your grave right now!"

Dash reeled back in shock. Danny Fenton always took his poundings in stride, as was expected of the unpopular community. Danny looked like he would follow through, and since he was nowhere near strong enough to physically fight Dash, that implied other means . . .

"I'll let you slide this time, seeing how you're so serious and all, but if this happens again, you're gonna wanna trade that salad for a bowl of pudding, 'cause that's all you'll be able to eat with no teeth."

Dash turned and left the cafeteria with Kwan in stride behind him. The eerie silence in the room slowly returned to the usual clamoring, although most was centered around one person.

"Sorry Sammy," Danny said as he took his seat again taking note of her baffled and slightly uncomfortable look.

"You know, if I wasn't so sure you'd punch me in the face, I'd scold you for calling me Sammy."

"What? Sam, why would I ever hit you, of all people?"

"Dude," Tucker said calmly. "I didn't see a target on the back of Dash's head, and I don't remember you getting a get-out-of-a-pounding-free card. I know you go through more stress in a week than most people do in a year, but you can't be picking fights with Mr. Strong Man. People might start connecting the dots."

"What do you mean?"

"Amity Park has a new super hero," Sam said. "Sam Manson and Tucker Foley follow him around while Daniel Fenton, a good friend of the former two, is conspicuously absent during those times. Danny Fenton's grades are slipping as more ghosts terrorize the city and Phantom becomes preoccupied."

"Danny Fenton begins to exhibit unusual behavior and is taken in for psychiatric evaluation," Tucker continued. "Medical studies are done, blood samples come back with ectoplasmic contamination, you get found out."

"Or," Sam said, "people can realize that the two look almost exactly the same and, like, hello? Danny _Fenton_, Danny _Phantom_? Notice any similarity?"

"I left my real name out of my alter ego name for a reason, Sam," Danny mumbled. "I'm not _that_ stupid."

Sam bit her lower lip and tried to draw him into an apologetic hug, but he brushed her off. "I need to go blow off some steam. If any teachers ask where I am . . . tell them I don't feel good."

Danny walked out of the cafeteria slowly and made his way to nowhere in particular. Sam and Tucker stared after him.

"I feel so bad," Sam said. She glanced up at Tucker, who was wearing a smirk on his face. "What?"

"You seem awfully touchy today. Oh, an animal died saving Danny, _HUG!_ Oh, Danny made a joke about him being stupid, _HUG!_ Oh, Danny's hanging out in his bedroom without a shirt on-" Sam reached across the table and smacked him across the face. "OW!" he cried as he brought a hand to the afflicted area. "Bitch," he complained quietly while rubbing it to make it feel better.

"As if, Tuck," Sam said.

"Well if you're so sure you'd never get the chance to _hug_ him in his room without a shirt, you could try to be all stealthy about it. Guys dig that kinda stuff."

"I'm sure you know all about that," Sam mocked.

Tucker lowered his head in fake shame. "Cinemax doesn't kick in with the real dirty stuff until around three . . ."

"You're disgusting," Sam moaned.

"And you're lying about your affection. Tell him or it will eat you from the inside out. Just like what Halo 2's campaign ending did to all those nerds."

"What nerds?"

"Exactly."

Sam sighed and stood from the table and gathered her things. "We'll be late for class," she mumbled.

Tucker looked after her as she sped away and then looked at his PDA. They still had twenty minutes left before sixth period. Tucker was still apprehensive about eating meat, at least for the time being, so he decided to chow down on Danny's salad that he hadn't even touched. Despite his preaching against the evil that was edible plants, the salad was enjoyable. If he could like this abomination of digestible food, surely there was no reason for Sam to avoid romance with Danny. Then again, the salad would make him sick later in the day.

"Meh, if it gets me out of English, then it'll definitely be worth it."

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_There's yet another installment. After all of the hard work I've put into this I can't believe this is only, like, the fifth episode or something like that. Oh well, I'll keep going until every villian, ally, fight, surprise and romance has been covered._

_Just to make this perfectly clear, the crack Kwan made does not, in any way, signify that I am against gays. I'm not thrilled about the lifestyle, but I'm not actively against it, so pleae don't go all ballistic about offending people and stuff. Kinda like the whole "Jewish accent" thing a bit earlier, It was there for the story, not to make people angry. There's also a bisexual crack used in the exact same context in a later chapter. PLEASE, don't take it too seriously. _

_Just a side note,_ FF _seems to have its own font or something, but as I'm editing this chapter, it looks strikingly_ Times New Roman. _If this glitch is ironed out when it's posted, then I guess it was nothing. Just wanted to give you all a heads up on my end._

_So, thanks to all my reviewers, especially, _Andrew Laplante, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, slyfoxx, MissMeliss4251 and dannyphantomfangirl13.

_Special thanks goes to_ MissMeliss4251_ for reviewing al of my story's chapters in a massive influx of reviews, which increased the total by 37 in one night._

**THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING**


	31. A Learning Experience 2

Chapter XXXVIII

Danny was relieved when the bell ending eighth period rung. Most students would call it unnecessarily loud, even painful at times, but to Danny it might as well have been a choir of angles. He rushed from the class to his locker and grabbed his dark gray hoodie he had left there the day before. It wasn't anything special, but it was unbelievably warm and cozy. Danny slid it on and gave himself a hug, just to feel how warm it was. He got the books he would need to do the homework he probably wouldn't do and turned to leave.

Dash Baxter had other plans. "Hell_o_ Fen_tonio_," he said angrily. "Wanna guess why I'm here?"

"To pound me, Dash? You let me walk, and that makes you a wimp in the eyes of your buddies, so you're here to get me good." Danny stretched out his arms. "Take your best shot. I can guarantee I've felt worse."

Dash looked at Danny quizzically. His humble nature had taken control over the rebellious anger that had surfaced at lunch. _He was learning_. Dash wound up a punch and delivered it into Danny's abdomen. Without so much as a cry, Danny let himself crash into the lockers and slump to the ground.

"That the best you got?" Danny laughed as he stood up. Then pain rocketed through his body. "Yup, apparently it was," he moaned as he leaned back against the locker. "Ah, dude, that hurt. That hurt real good."

Dash scratched his head. "You alright, Fenton?"

"Well, let's see," Danny said as he struggled with the pain. "You punch me in the stomach and send me flying into a locker. Yeah, I think I'm just fan_tastic_."

Danny managed to stand, if shakily. "But no hard feelings," he muttered. "I snapped at you and I shouldn't have. So, are we even?"

Dash took a step back. "Dude, you're wierding me out." Suddenly, a flying box collided with Dash's head and sent him sprawling on the floor.

_Bullies . . ._

Danny looked around for the source of the voice, and the box, but saw nothing. He turned his attention to Dash, who was now sitting on the floor, rubbing his head.

"Dude, who the hell threw that?"

"I don't know," Danny replied. "I don't know."

"You said that twice," Dash commented.

"It's for dramatic emphasis. Now there's gonna be creepy music as the scene switches to me trying to figure out what happened later at my house."

"Dude, I'm sorry I punched you. If I'd known it was gonna make you retarded I would've just let you go."

Danny shook his head. Dash wasn't the proud owner of a vast vocabulary, and the words he _did_ know would eventually get him in trouble with one organization or another.

"Well, I'm gonna leave now. When that spooky _Silent Hill_ music comes on, just run . . . and don't look back."

Danny headed for the door, but Dash called out to him. "Wait!"

Danny turned slowly. "Yeah?"

". . . The music from the game or the movie with Radha Mitchell?"

"The movie." With that, Danny turned and left the school, leaving Dash in a whimpering heap on the floor.

* * *

"So you didn't see anyone?" 

Danny, Sam and Tucker had all gathered at Danny's house after school hoping to get some work done, but the incident at the end of the school day had them all curious. School would have to wait.

"No, but I'm not sure whether or not it was a ghost. My ghost sense didn't go off, but I didn't see any people around."

"You think it was that Plasmius chick?" Tucker asked. "You said she didn't trigger your ghost sense."

"Why would she throw a cardboard box at _Dash Baxter_, of all people? If it was her, I'd probably be dead by now." Danny had told his friends about the heroics of the Dairy King, but failed to tell them about the way he sacrificed himself to allow the Fentons to escape. Danny assumed the worst. "Let's not dwell on this too much," Danny said. "Person or ghost, all they did was throw a stupid box. Now if I'm supposed to pass this algebra test tomorrow, I need to study. Are you guys gonna help or what?"

Sam and Tucker sighed. While Danny's grades were quite important, the mysterious flying box was undeniably more interesting.

* * *

"Can you just go over this one more time, father? Your rationale is confusing enough without mother to explain things." From a bench in Amity Park's public park, a very attractive young woman spoke to the shadows of a nearby oak tree. "And don't look at me like that, you know I love you," she said sweetly. 

A heavy sigh came from the shadows, followed by a deep breath. "I don't understand how I can make this any clearer. You, my precious daughter, were born with the wonderful ability to leech the happiness out of others and replace it with rage. You will infiltrate the school where this _half ghost child_ is educated and . . . do your thing-"

"Oh please, don't say that. It sounds so odd when you do."

"Silence!" the voice growled. "And you wonder why you can't understand me. If I could speak without interruption then perhaps I wouldn't need to repeat myself." Another sigh, "As I was saying, you will infiltrate the school and absorb the mirth from these human germs, but leave the ghost child unharmed. When all of his friends turn against him, you will be there to comfort him. Once you have gained his trust, you will bring him to me."

"What happens then?"

"You are free to do what you please. For as long as you exist."

The girl's eyes shone with a peppy blue light. "Really? Oh thank you, father, thank you!"

"SILENCE!" the voice commanded in a hush. "Now go, follow my instructions and bring him to me . . . intact. And take as long as you need. I want your work to be done at the pinnacle of perfection; not a single hair out of place."

"Consider it done," the girl said. Her curvy figure melted into a black shadowy form with razor sharp teeth and piercing blue eyes. She smiled at the shadows of the massive oak tree before flying off.

From the darkness surrounding the tree a large figure stepped forth. His blood red eyes shone brightly from the blackness of his helmet. A flame that matched his eyes burned atop his helmet and an ecto-fire burned along his shoulders, stretching to the ground. This cape was also blood red. The armor was a combination of medieval knight's armor and that of a modern day special operative warrior with technological symbols etched into both styles. His eyes squinted after the retreating figure of his daughter and he sighed a third time.

"Go safely, my daughter. Bring to me what I need to destroy she who plagues my existence once and for all."

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_A little glimpse of what's to come. Maybe. Depends on how you interpret things. Might not be the longest chapter, but it was pretty informative, I'd say. So, there was Spectra and Poindexter (and the mysterious third ghost! Oooooo!), all crammed into one tiny chapter. Things are gonna get better, and the next chapter is comfortably longer and laced with all sorts of jokes, innuendo and the heroics of plain old human Danny Fenton. Until then,_

_thanks to my reviewers, who are just_ _fan_tastic_, including _TDG3RD, Andrew Laplante, MissMeliss4251 and dannyphantomfangirl13.

**I'M THE WORLD'S GREATEST!**


	32. A Learning Experience 3

Chapter XXXIX

The first thing Danny noticed when he woke up was the lack of sunlight piercing through the folds in his curtain to sting his eyeballs. The second thing he noticed was that his alarm clock did not read 1,100. Instead, the clock decided to display a much friendlier number, like 600. Danny rolled out of bed and tried to think about what had happened the night before. Tucker and Sam had come over to help him study for a test, Tucker left early, Sam stayed longer and things got . . . interesting.

Danny then gave himself a mental slap. "No, that's not what happened," he grumbled. He scolded himself for thinking such things, but it was obviously a result of the early morning sleepiness he-

Danny's mouth curved into a surprised grin. _Early morning sleepiness?_ That meant he must have been able to go the whole night without any interruptions! He hadn't had a good night's sleep in two days! This meant he had no nightmares during his sleep, which meant that he wasn't going to be late for school. He quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs, speeding into the kitchen. He eagerly poured himself a bowl of cereal, something he had not had time for earlier in the week, and savored every spoonful he emptied into his mouth. After completing his breakfast with a tall glass of orange juice and a banana, Danny grabbed his book bag and was about to leave the kitchen when Jazz made her entrance.

"Oh, Danny!" she said surprised. "I didn't know you were up!"

"I slept really well last night," he said happily. "I feel great! Better than I have since . . ." Danny's happy speech faltered, not wanting to reveal his supernatural powers to his sister.

"Since what?" Jazz asked suspiciously. "Oh, I bet it has to do with Sam! Does it, Danny? Does it have to do with Sam?"

Danny furrowed his brow as he considered agreeing with his sister to save his secret identity, but his blush of embarrassment made it so Danny didn't have to lie.

"Oh, that is so cute!" Jazz squealed. "I knew it! I just knew it!"

"Knock it off, Jazz," Danny warned. "This is the first time I've felt good . . . in a while, so don't ruin it for me."

"Oh of course, little brother. If you're ready, I can drive you to school, unless you'd rather walk."

"Walking is good for you," Danny stated proudly. "I happen to be lucky enough to have been doing it for years now!"

"Whatever you say," Jazz replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'll see you at school."

Jazz grabbed her things and slipped out the front door, leaving Danny alone in the living room. He put on his shoes and donned his comfy gray hoodie before heading out the door. Spring was so close Danny could almost taste it, but then he realized it was just the Lucky Charms he had eaten for breakfast. The warm breeze wafted through the quiet streets and made Danny want to fly to the top of Amity Park's Terror Tower and just take it all in. But necessity overrode desire and Danny continued his trek for school, not too glum about abandoning his sightseeing. After a while of pleasant strolling, Danny arrived at the front doors of Casper High. He slipped inside and headed for his locker, ready to start his day.

He arrived at the familiar dull-green steel door that was his own and peeled his hoodie off of his body. After fazing it into his locker, Danny turned to head to his homeroom where he was almost guaranteed several minutes of peace and quiet, but was rooted to the ground as the sight of Dash Baxter barreling down the hallway right for him filled is vision. Thankfully the taller boy skidded to a halt before colliding with the half ghost.

"Fenton!" he cried out. "Oh man, I can't believe it! Yesterday after school, when you said that thing about the music and the boxes and the _I don't know_ twice and-"

"Dash," Danny cautioned. "Breathe or you're gonna pass out or something." Dash stopped blathering and took a deep breath. "Now then," Danny continued. "In complete sentences."

"After you left school, I thought you were just being loopy after I punched you, but you were right!" Dash's voice fell to a hushed whisper. "I heard that music!"

Danny's eyes widened. "You mean that _Silent Hill_ music?"

"Yeah! I thought you were just kidding, but as soon as you left I heard it start playing from the loudspeakers!"

"Did you find out who was playing it?"

"Yeah right! I got the heck outta here! The only reason I didn't skip school today was because I thought you would know something about it!"

"Dash, I was just joking around," Danny said. "But don't worry. I'll tell my parents and they'll . . . think of something."

"Oh, thanks Fenton. Thanks a lot."

Dash walked away while nervously glancing over his shoulder every few steps. Had it not been for the possible severity of the situation, Danny would've been cracking up. Was there a connection between the mysterious voice, the box and the music? He didn't know, but one thing was for sure; his happy day wasn't going to be a boring one.

* * *

Danny soon found himself in fifth period, wondering where his good day had gone to. He had finished his algebra test earlier and was setting his sights on the homework due for the next day when Principal Ishiyama entered the room flanked by two gorgeous girls. Danny's heart skipped a beat when both of them, after scanning the classroom, laid their eyes on him, smiled and blushed when he returned the gesture. 

"Excuse me," the principal announced. "I'd like everyone's attention, please."

Normally it would take several moments for the class to settle down, but the appearance of the two new girls seemed to help.

"Thank you. Now, I'd like to introduce two new students to Casper High." The woman turned to the girl on her right. "This is Penelope Spectra. She comes to us from Maine, which is on the other side of the country for those of you who are geographically impaired."

The girl was still gazing at Danny. She twirled her wavy blonde hair around her finger and gave him another smile with her full lips. With a nod from the principal, she sauntered over to Danny and sat down at one of the desks next to him. At once, Danny was barely able to keep his gaze on her eyes. Her body was very well developed and curvy, drawing the eyes of more and more of the boys in the room. The tight blue jeans button-up shirt didn't do much to deter the adoring optics that ran up and down her body.

She and Danny both looked at the principal as she introduced the other girl standing in the doorway.

"And this is Valerie Grey. She lived in Dimmesdale before coming here to Amity Park. Not much of a long move," the principal commented.

"When the Dingleburgs are your next-door neighbors, it's _definitely_ worth it."

The joke brought forth laughter from the rest of the class, not just because she was new, but because most of the class had been subjected to the nuisance that was the Dingleburgs for many years before they finally decided to move.

With her introduction out of the way, Valerie strolled through the aisles of desks and took a seat in front of Danny. He noted that her figure was lean and slender, and that her piercing green eyes were a stark contrast to her dark skin. She didn't sport a bust to rival Penelope, but her athletic build and stunningly beautiful face was enough to draw half of the ogling eyes from Penelope to herself.

"Hi," Danny said sheepishly looking from one beautiful girl to another. "I'm Danny. Danny Fenton."

"Well, you already know my name," Valerie said. "Is it true what they say about this place?"

"What do they say about it?" Danny asked.

"Amity Park allegedly has its own superhero," Penelope interjected. "Is that true?"

"Well, yeah! Sure, absolutely," Danny confirmed. He was happy to be the first to talk to these new girls, not only because they were strikingly attractive, but because Danny had seen his own approval ratings. Collateral damage was becoming quite a problem and the public was subtly shifting their views of Phantom from hero to menace. If he was able to gain even two more supporters, then he would be happy. "Phantom is a hero, no doubt about that. I mean, he might occasionally scrap someone's car, damage a building or something like that, but if he wasn't there to fight off the ghosts actually _doing_ the damage, well, this place would be a bit worse for wear."

"I bet it would be," Penelope agreed. "My dad is really big into ghosts. Maybe not as much as yours, but he still studies them like crazy. We came here because he was hoping to learn a little more about Phantom and why he behaves the way he does."

Danny was about to ask how she knew his parents were world renowned ghost experts, but stopped when the words _world_ _renowned_ reasserted themselves in his mind's eye.

"I don't know what to think," Valerie said. "There aren't any ghosts where I come from, and the only other word I hear about this place besides _ghost_ is _attack_. Still, they can't be all bad if that Phantom guy saves people." The African American girl sighed and stretched her arms. "Until something happens that gets me involved, it's not my problem."

Danny smiled weakly. He wished he could share the same opinion, but since he was half ghost himself, it was already his problem. Danny was about to feebly attempt to strike up a conversation, but the lunch bell saved him from any undesired embarrassment. He stood and waited for the new girls to gather their things.

"Might I be so bold as to guide you to our lovely cafeteria?" he asked in a forced low voice.

The two girls giggled and followed him out of the room, much to the astonishment of the other girls and disdain of the other boys. He arrived in the cafeteria and escorted them through the lunch line, giving his recommendations and saving them from the school's notorious pistachio pudding. After all three were safely through the line, Danny showed them to his table, where Sam and Tucker sat, giving him mixed looks. Sam appeared confused while Tucker was beaming at pride for his friend.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Penelope Spectra and Valerie Grey. They're new here, so be nice."

"Thanks for the heads up, Danny," Sam said sarcastically. "For a second there, I thought I might've just not seen them before."

Danny rolled his eyes and began to eat his pizza he had bought, but was interrupted by the unwanted intrusion of Dash and Kwan.

"Ladies, you must be lost," Dash said. "The table for human beings is over there," he pointed to his own table, "this place is for freaks and losers."

"I'm not a freak!" Danny protested.

"I'm not a loser!" Sam exclaimed.

Dash scratched his head. "I meant that to apply the other way around, but I guess it goes both ways."

"Ha! I get it! It goes both ways! Like a bi-"

"Yeah Kwan, I know, like a bi-sexual, I know. You really need to work on not ruining jokes so often." Dash redirected his attention at the two young ladies. "Now, if you'll follow me this way to popularity and coolness-"

"What makes you think we're just going to get up and follow you?" Valerie stated. "We sat here for a reason, you know."

"I happen to think Danny is a sweet, adorable boy," Penelope added while pulling said teen into a fearsome embrace. "And his friends are funny, nice and fashionable. I wish I could say the same about you, but uniforms are out. You all look so lame."

Dash and Kwan looked at each other's matching football jackets, dark blue jeans and white sneakers. They looked at the ground dejectedly for only a moment before regaining their hostile posture.

"Fine, stay here and be nobodies for all I care! We don't need more people like Fen_turd _here."

Dash finished by twisting his knuckle into Danny's vertebrae, causing him to squirm further into Penelope's warm embrace. He found himself furiously blushing as he became shamefully aware that her rather large breasts were acting as rather large cushions for his abused body. As soon as the two jocks were gone, all the blood rapidly left Danny's face as he heard a familiar voice.

_Bullies . . ._

Danny spun around, both relieved and disappointed to be released by Penelope, and watched in awe as Dash was yanked into the air by his underpants. The cafeteria erupted into laughter, until they all saw that there was no person holding the boy. Panicked screams erupted from around the room and students fled in all directions. Dash was pulled higher into the air and began to spin around.

"Whoa, s-somebody h-help m-me!" he cried. "I'm getting dizzy, AHHH!"

Dash screamed as the invisible force holding him in the air against his will dispersed, causing the blonde boy to fly at the wall at breakneck speed.

"Danny!" called a boy the half ghost was familiar with.

Mikey, one of the decidedly _nicer_ athletic boys was standing in a crouch with his hands cupped together. Danny nodded and leapt over the table, his shoe landing in Mikey's joined hands. The stronger boy thrust his arms up above his head, sending Danny into the air. He collided with Dash, breaking the fatal descent and knocking them both safely into the plastic garbage cans. It might not have been painless, but it was better than dying.

"Whoa dude," Dash said. "You saved me!"

"Even after you were a jerk," Danny added. "Remember that next time you mistake the red oval on my shirt as a bull's-eye."

Danny turned and left the cafeteria, nodding to Mikey on the way.

"Just like the glory days, huh Fenton?" Mikey grinned.

"You know it," Danny replied with a similar expression.

Back in grade school, Danny and Mikey had nearly perfected a certain vault maneuver. With Mikey being the larger of the two, Danny was always the one to be vaulted into the air to do an assortment of things, like intercept football passes, deflect basketballs and, in this case, save people from painting the cafeteria red. The two pounded fists and Danny left the room with his friends in tow. Mikey sighed and decided to check if Dash was alright. Physically. There really was no hope for his mental stability.

"That was so brave of you," Penelope cooed as she weaved her way to the front of the procession to stand next to Danny. "I can't believe you did that, even after how awful he was to you!"

"Oh, come on," Danny said as a wave of red washed over his face. "I'm sure anyone else would've done the same."

The five teens headed for their sixth period, leaving a very distraught entity in their wake.

It watched them with transparent eyes; angry ones at that. A victim would save his own tormentor? Times surely had changed since the presence had been human. He could feel himself growing more powerful with each act of vengeance, but the power of the victim was siphoning it away. His power was not his ghostly attacks or human physical prowess, no.

The victim had displayed forgiveness.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_I said it before, but I'll say it again. There is nothing about homosexuals or bisexuals that offends me personally. I'm not thrilled about the lifestyle, but as long as nobody tries to "convert" me I won't have any problems. I'd like to take this time to let everyone know that there will be no erotica, slash or femslash and whatever else some of the more disturbed minds have come up with. Butch Hartman has specifically stated that any erotic situations including, but not limited to, homosexual ones offend him. Even if the story takes place when a character is a mature adult, the only reason the story has material for its basis is because of a_ fourteen year old boy _conjured up from someone's mind. I wasn't planning on anything like that anyway. Now you've all been wonderful in not getting offended, so I'll try to keep it that way._

_In reference to the comment I made about the imminent crossover (cough_nextchapter_cough),_ _the crack at the Dingleburgs (if I'm spelling it wrong please let me know) and Valerie's previous residence is not a foreshadowing to a Fairly Odd Parents crossover. Timmy's dad is my favorite character in that show, next to the Crimson Chin, and I happily share his views on his arch-nemesis neighbor. The Dingleburgs will **NOT** be making a cameo in this story nor will anyone else from _tFOP_, so relax a bit, mmkay? And Valerie's uninterested take on ghosts? Let's just say it _will_ become her problem . . . in a few chapters or so._

_I hope you like my redesigned Spectra. I need to get my reviews back to where they were before my hiatus, and I decided the best way to do that would be to anger the fangirls with a possible challenge to Sam for Danny's affection. That, and it was also one of my ideas from the start to make Spectra a "naughty schoolgirl" instead of a counsilor-type lady. Besides, as you'll soon discover, Casper High has a very capable counsilor already._

_Soon to come . . . but not too soon . . . Poindexter's Ultimate redesign! Also the answers as to why Danny's ghost sense isn't activated by Spectra or Poindexter's cheap parlor tricks. And more Danny/Family time, because that's what this stoy really needs, am I right?_

_Thanks to my reviewers, especially _Andrew Laplante, MissMeliss4251, Skye-chan, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master _and_ dannyphantomfangirl13.

**HOOARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG! BLAAAAHHHHHHH!**


	33. A Learning Experience 4

Chapter XL

(Just like my clothes!)

Danny Fenton smiled as he walked into school on Friday morning. Peers who would have normally not even glanced at him not turned their full attention to him as he proudly strode down the halls.

"Hey, hey! It's Danny, Lord of the Pimps!"

"Check it, here comes Fenton!"

"Hey, didn't I already tell you about that disgusting mayonnaise? Oh, hey Danny."

The center of this attention beamed with pride as he saw his friends standing around his locker. All three of them. Sam cast a sideways glance and a halfhearted wave, Tucker nodded and Penelope gave him a seductive smile. Danny reached his locker and stuffed his things inside, careful not to use his powers. Ever since Penelope began hanging around with the trio the week before, he was much more cautious.

"Hi Danny," said a familiar voice.

Danny turned to see Valerie standing next to Sam, followed by the sneering Paulina, several of her satellites and Star, who appeared to be giving Tucker a once over. The African-American boy had developed just the minimal amount of noticeable muscle tone, but that was enough to draw the eyes of some of his secret, and apparently not-so-secret, admirers. Tucker appeared to be giving Star, who continued to develop further since the incident involving a certain ghost dragon, the same treatment.

"Hey Valerie," Danny said cheerily. "So, how's it going?"

"Oh you know. My dad's all freaked out because his boss is coming up to visit the lab in a few days, but my mom helps a lot with the stress around the house."

"Glad to hear it. And how goes the martial arts?"

Valerie grinned and lashed out with a lightning smooth strike that snatched Tucker's PDA right out from under his nose.

"Hey! I was still using that!"

"Sorry Tucker," she said, still with a grin. "Oh, and I added a few numbers to your contact list, hope you don't mind."

"Yes, of course, because you're just_ that _fast," Tucker said sarcastically while placing the device in his pocket. "So, you're in with the A-List now, huh? How's that working out for ya?"

"It's pretty good. Comes with some nice perks, but some of the people are just weird."

Danny and Sam stifled their laughter as Paulina and her satellites grimaced at Valerie.

"I gotta get to class; I'll see you late, cutie-pie!"

"Bye," Danny said softly.

His face was turning a dull pink, but it subsided thanks to the toleration he had built up over the time he had spent around his two new classmates. Both of them seemed to think Danny was the most adorable creature in the world, and he was not about to object.

Penelope gave a disgruntled huff, to which Danny didn't even bat an eyelash. "So," the girl said, "where are we going after school?"

"My place," Danny replied firmly. "There's this thing my parents are working on that lets you see ghosts even when they're invisible. We're going to borrow it and I was going to field test it in the school."

"On what?" Sam inquired. "Don't tell me you think a ghost threw that box at Dash's head and whispered _bullies_ and stuff."

"I also happen to think that very ghost is the one who threw Dash into the air by his underwear last week," Danny countered. "If I can see it, maybe I can find out how it's eluding my ghost sen-" he stopped short as Penelope eyed him suspiciously. "Ghost sen, uh, ghost sensors! Yeah, the ones my dad built into my book bag! Those ones!"

"Speaking of which, where is your book bag?" Tucker asked while fervently categorizing miscellaneous data in his PDA which he had removed from his pocket once Valerie was gone. "I didn't see you come in with it on."

"Oh, uh . . . yeah, where is it? I thought I had it with me-"

"You did," Penelope interrupted, holding up the dark-purple bag. "You left it at my place remember?" she asked playfully.

"Weren't you with us until, like, ten thirty last night?" Sam demanded of Danny with a hostile edge in her voice.

"I went to Penelope's place to get help with that history homework," Danny answered in a puzzled tone. "Something wrong, Sam?"

Sam growled and sulked away, leaving her three companions in the halls.

"What's her deal?" Penelope asked. "Its not like we did anything, I mean, we're just friends, right?"

"Right. I mean, come on, I've only known you for, like, a week!"

The two stood there in silence, subtly trying to avoid the other's gaze. Tucker raised his eyes from his PDA and sighed. "I'm out. See you guys later."

The two watched as the boy tucked the PDA into a pocket on his khaki-colored cargo pants and strolled away, humming some tune from a video game.

"So," Penelope said. "Wanna walk me to my homeroom?"

"I'd be insulted if I didn't." Danny replied as he wrapped his arm around the girl's waist. "Wait, did that come out right?"

Penelope giggled and walked with him as he led her to her homeroom. The two arrived at the door and the girl slid away from Danny with a smile. "See you later, sweetie."

Danny internally flinched, remembering how Plasmius had called him by the same name. He let it go as Penelope did something he was not ready for - at all. Penelope only came up to Danny's chin, even with heels on, which meant she had to stand on her tip-toes to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek.

The boisterous calamity from within the room dulled to a hush as the students saw what had just taken place. Some of them were too shocked to do or say anything, like Dash Baxter, while others were already talking about it.

Danny, with wide eyes and a goofy grin plastered on his face, turned and walked away as Penelope took her seat. Or he would have if his leg had not gone intangible. His eyes snapped open as he lost his balance and fell to the ground. He rubbed his leg, which had regained tangibility, stood and, with one last grin, walked away. Penelope's baby blue eyes seemed to flash a brilliant shade of sapphire for an instant, but had anyone seen the occurrence they would have said it was merely a trick of the light. In actuality, Penelope Spectra's eyes did ignite in a fiery spectral light as fresh power was absorbed into her body. Most students would have said their morning happiness had only been temporarily replaced by shock or disappointment, but the horrible truth was that it was never coming back. Spectra, the wolf among the lambs, was beginning to make her move.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Happy Valentine's Day! That being said, I'm pretty upset with my progress. I had this whole thing planned out where a certain dance would come up and I would coincide the chapters to get the one with the dance up today. Of course, that one's like still three updates off at least. Don't worry, though, you'll still get it. Next chapter is LONGER. I don't know how these small ones keep snaking themselves in here._

_We had a day off of school today! Too much snow and freezing rain and such. That makes three in the last two weeks. Know what that means? I get more of this story done so that, even if I procrastinatre, there's still a lot of it already done._

_Danny's first intimate reaction with a girl? You better believeit, Phangirls! And if you think Sam's gonna come to the rescue, well, I'll just let you read therest of the story . . . suffice to say you won't be pleased. AT ALL._

_Special thanks to my reviewers, especially_ Andrew Laplante, Sapphire Wolf Master, Arabic Blessing, leadfoot352, Skye-chan, MissMeliss4251, TDG3RD, Phantom5656 and xXDFXx.

**THESE PRETZELS ARE MAKING ME THIRSTY!**


	34. A Learning Experience 5

Chapter XLI

"Danny, look out!" Sam cried out to her best friend.

While Danny Fenton was decidedly absent from the scene, another character happened to go by the same title. Phantom spun around as a creature that resembled an octopus with tattered raptor wings attached to its body descended on him with surprising speed.

Phantom was _not_ surprised. He wound up an ectoplasmic punch and launched it at the creature's form, releasing the energy built up as his fist connected with it. It exploded, sending bits of ectoplasm splattering to the ground and on the persons present. Phantom floated down to the ground, a disgruntled look on his face. He looked at his friends, who wore similar expressions, and placed a hand on each shoulder. Focusing on his intangibility powers, he was able to faze his comrades out of the sticky mess that coated their bodies.

Tucker's disposition quickly changed from upset to indifferent as he examined his PDA. "Well, there goes half of lunch," he complained in a slightly snobbish tone. "Although I guess I can't complain; it's not like anything serious happens at lunch, or school for that matter."

Sam, while free of ectoplasmic slime, had only gotten angrier. "Speaking of school," she said coolly. "Danny, would you mind telling me why many a shallow witch has confronted me today with rumors of you getting tender with Penelope before homeroom?"

Danny, who had made the transition from his ghost form to his human one, looked at Sam with wide eyes. Normally the semi-goth girl would see such a look would be accompanied by a shocked _what are you talking about_, or a loud burst of laughter. Instead, Danny's face took a ride on the embarrassed side, turning a nice shade of light red.

"I wasn't getting tender with anyone," he objected. "I walked her to her homeroom and she kissed me." Danny took immediate notice of the fury in Sam's amethyst eyes, "It was on the cheek!" Danny's fear from Sam's intimidating glare fizzled out as a realization hit him. He returned Sam's icy gaze with one of his own. "Why do you even care?" he demanded.

It was Sam's turn to blush. "Oh, well, I, uh, I just don't want anything to mess up this system we have going on!" She forced a nervous laugh. "I mean we've been friends for a long time, and I want things to stay the same, that's all!"

"Smooth," Tucker mumbled so only Sam could hear. She elbowed him in the side, but the boy barely flinched as he continued to tap away at his PDA.

Danny's icy stare lingered for a while longer, but was then replaced by the cheery expression he usually wore. "Ok," he said. "Come on, then. We better get back to the cafeteria before we miss lunch completely."

The three ran inside the building, which was very near as the ghost Danny had fought decided not to lead him across town. They managed to finish their lunch while the student body trickled back into the room, still a bit shaken up from the encounter.

"Hey Danny," Tucker said as he slid his PDA into one of the many pockets on his pants. "We still on for game night at your house? I thought we could use your camera thingy to make me a custom character in _Rainbow Six_."

Danny nodded. The week before, Tucker had been so kind to introduce his two best friends, and the new comer, to one of his latest favorite games; _Rainbow Six: Vegas_. It became an instant favorite among the other two, as Penelope didn't care much for video games. It was not too much longer when Danny picked up the camera accessory for the X-Box 360 console and made his own custom face, using Phantom's head of course. Sam had gotten to use the gadget herself and was quite pleased. Tucker was still anxious to try it out for himself.

"How many times to I have to tell you, Tuck, call it _**R **Six_. We get enough crap from Dash and his goons without incriminating ourselves. But yeah, we're still on. Make sure you bring your hard-drive with you, 'cuz you can't transfer stuff to other consoles or some garbage like that."

"Me? Forget something like that? Come on, dude, remember who you're talking to!"

"Oh right. I'm talking to the future ghost master of technology!" Danny said sarcastically. He lifted his arms in the air and waved them around. "Ooooooh! Fear him!" Sam sighed and picked at her lunch. "You're not still mad about what happened this morning, are you Sam?"

Sam dared a glance at Danny's concerned face and sighed again. "No, I'm not mad. It's not like you did anything," she said dejectedly. She then brought to mind her severe yet secret attraction to him and added in a mumble "not on _purpose_, anyway."

"Don't worry, Sammy, We'll be best friends until the end of time! Don't you worry about a thing!"

Sam gave a weak smile and lightly punched the object of her affection in the arm. He pretended it really hurt and went through the motions of suffering and pain. That brought on a giggle much desired by her friend.

"Yes," Tucker interjected while scrolling through a calendar in his PDA. "Don't worry about a single darned thing, you two. Just go on living your lives completely the same as- oh, wait, what's this I see?" He looked at his PDA with false shock. "Oh my good-golly-gosh! This can't be right! I must have made a mistake somewhere!"

Danny and Sam rolled their eyes and sighed. "What is it now, Tucker," they said simultaneously.

"Why, today is February 11, is it not?" He asked, while never taking his eyes of the device.

"Uh, sure, why not," Danny offered. "Seriously, what's up?"

"Why, in three days is the feast day of St. Valentine! Valentine's Day!"

Sam growled at the boy, but Danny held up a hand. "What's your point? What makes this Valentine's Day any different than the others?"

"Since it's only our freshman year here at Casper High, and neither of you can hack a computer, I wouldn't expect you two to know anything about the infamous Casper High Surprise Valentines Day Extravaganza!"

"What kind of a name is that?" Danny asked in confusion.

"Dude, I don't name this stuff!" Tucker cried and threw up his arms. "Apparently, they're going to have an announcement or something like that on the thirteenth, just to whip everyone into a frenzy; mostly us freshmen at that."

"Darn it, I hate school functions," Danny mumbled. "Of course, I know who I'm asking."

"And who would that be?" Tucker inquired. He hoped against current logic his choice would be sweet, kind, timid, fragile, elegant and beautiful Sam Manson.

"Penelope," Danny said with a goofy expression on his face.

Sam growled at Danny, and Tucker thought she might have gone ghost on him right there. Then he remembered Danny was the one with the superpowers. Still . . .

"You are so clueless," Sam hissed.

Danny looked at Sam with an eyebrow raised. "'Scuse me?" he replied.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Sam answered.

Danny watched perplexed as Sam, whose face was red with anger, gathered her things and stormed out of the cafeteria. She almost ran into Star, who had nervously made her way back into the cafeteria after the ghost had appeared. While the ghost problem had been solved, for the time being, Star was just as easily frightened of the monster Sam was acting like.

Star smiled at Tucker and scooted over to the table, taking a seat next to the boy.

"Why hello there, Star," Tucker said as he set his PDA back in his pocket. Danny noticed with fascination that he missed the intended target several times. "What can I do for you this wonderful day?"

"For starters, you can at least tell me if you're not going to text me," she pouted. "I had to spend the entire third period listening to some guest speaker ramble on about global warming or something dumb like that."

Tucker frowned. "I'm sorry, but I was having a few problems of my own. We kinda had a surprise test in History that period. I swear World War Two is so much more boring to learn about than I bet it really was back then. You know, when Hitler had all of his war monsters running around with cannons built into their faces and laser feet and flying Nazi-Saucers and-"

"Tucker, please," Danny warned. "Remember, we go to a _public_ school. Keep your voice down."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Tucker apologized.

"I don't think they had any of those things back then," Star said. "I think you've been reading too many comic books."

"Be that as it may," Tucker said defensively. "I was busy third period."

"I take it you passed your test?" Star asked with genuine concern. She had yet to grasp the true extent of Tucker's genius.

"With flying colors," the techno-geek replied proudly.

"Goodie!" Star exclaimed. "Oh, well I got to go. Valerie said she'd help with some of my math homework, so I'll catch you later, K?"

"K," Tucker said sheepishly as Star waved and walked away.

Tucker stared off into space until Danny's knowing look brought him back to Earth.

"What?"

"You've been texting Star?" Danny asked.

"Only when her biology class gets too boring, like today."

"You managed to get her to sit at our table?"

"For, like, the first time ever," Tucker countered. "Besides, hardly any of the A-List is in here. Bunch-a-sissies.

"She'll catch you later?"

"Alright, enough. What is this, _Twenty Questions_?"

"I only asked _three_," Danny said with a grin. "But since we're talking about numbers, what's going on with you _two_?"

"Please," Tucker said with a dismissive sigh. "Must I endure your horrible analytical abilities now? And you, of all people, ask of me a query of romantic proportions when you fail to realize the lustful turmoil that clouds your own life. I shall not sit idly by as you drivel on about-"

"Dude," Danny said. "Please stop."

Tucker grinned. "My business with Star is exactly that. _My_ business. I'm not going to get on you about how big of a mistake you're making by asking Penelope to this dance thing, so don't bug me about Star."

"Alright fine . . . wait, I'm making a big mistake asking Penelope to the dance? How?"

"Nah-ah-ah!" Tucker wagged his finger. "I just said I'm not getting into it. You figure it out on your own."

Tucker retrieved his PDA and taped at its various buttons as he grabbed his book bag and walked away, another happy tune escaping his lips.

Danny was left alone at his table, left in deep thought. What did Tucker mean by a big mistake? And why did Sam get so mad? Danny shook his head. Either everyone was crazy or he was missing something big.

With a defeated sigh, Danny decided to focus on the now. He stood and made his way to the doors that led out of the cafeteria and was greeted by the smiling face that was Penelope's.

"Hi Danny!" she said with a cheerful smile.

Danny grinned weakly at her, but he could not keep the farce up for long. His face fell back to its confused and saddened state.

"Aw, what's wrong cutie-pie?"

"I don't even know anymore," he said tiredly. "Apparently there's this dance coming up on Valentine's Day-"

"Oh my gosh! Really? That's great! Who're you gonna ask, huh? I bet its Sam, right?"

"Well, no, actually. I was going to ask you-"

Penelope's eyes got wider and she grabbed Danny as tightly as she could, which was pretty tight. Danny's arms were pinned to his side and he bent them at the elbows to pat the girl on her back.

"Oh thank you, Danny, thank you! That's so great!"

Danny smiled. Making other people happy made him happy as well. Penelope's high spirits instantly lifted his mood. He thought for a moment if it was wise to tell her that Tucker was decidedly against the pairing, but chose not to. It was not his place to set people against each other.

"But don't tell anyone," Danny warned. "Apparently this is supposed to be a secret or something and I don't want to get in trouble."

"_My _lips are sealed," Penelope said assuredly with a twinkle in her eyes. "_Yours_ I'm not so sure of."

"What do you mean? I'm the one who-"

Danny was caught off guard as Penelope reached up and kissed him for the second time. This time, however, her lips pressed against his. Danny was so shocked he couldn't muster up a reaction. So many thoughts rushed into his head, mostly of panic. He was, in his opinion, the least experienced person in such things. He had decided that if anyone kissed him in his life, it would either be because they were drunk and didn't know any better or because their faces smacked into each other. This was definitely different. Danny felt the kiss deepen, as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck. Danny instinctively put his arms on her waist. Suddenly, he felt his weight shift to his left leg and began to internally panic, fearing it had gone intangible. A quick check revealed, with some degree of embarrassment, that it was simply bent back in what Tucker had explained was the _Babinski Reflex_. The embarrassment was brought on because usually only girls exhibited such behavior. Danny set his foot back down and felt his eyes start to flutter shut. That's when Penelope decided to break the kiss. She grinned at the goofy look plastered on his face and took his limp hands in hers.

"I'll see you later," she whispered.

"Uh huh," was all he was able to reply as the girl walked away.

Danny was left in a stupor until he felt a slap on his back.

"Freakin' awesome, Fenton," Dash said. "You totally just made out with that chick!"

"I did? I did! Me, Danny Fenton!" Danny stopped himself. "Oh great. Now I'm starting to sound like my dad," he mumbled.

"Nice move, Fenton-miester!" Kwan congratulated. "Who'da thought . . ."

"I'm impressed, Danny," Paulina said bitterly. "Someone like you managed to slobber all over a poor defenseless girl. I bet you're proud."

Danny looked around nervously.

"Ah, don't let her get to ya," Dash said with another congratulatory slap on the back. "Ya did fine, considering it was your first time and all."

"You think so?"

"Well, thankfully I wasn't on the receiving end," Kwan explained. "But since she _didn't_ freak out and run away, you couldn't have been terrible."

"Three cheers for Fenton!" Dash exclaimed. "Hip-hip!"

"Hooray!" the A-List and other students who had heard the news responded with enthusiasm.

"Hip-hip!"

"Hooray!"

"Hip-hip!"

"Daniel James Fenton," said the unmistakable voice of Jazz. "Come here this instant!"

The cheer had been interrupted, but crowd didn't become angry at Jazz or tease Danny for several reasons. The first and foremost being that he had just kissed the hottest girl in the freshmen class, or rather, been kissed, but the same principles applied. The second reason was that it was family business, and the freshmen class of Casper High learned the hard way that it was wrong to jeer a student when family matters were brought up. The last reason was that Jasmine Fenton was a junior, she held some of the highest academic scores in history, she was very popular and well connected and she was drop-dead gorgeous. Her attributes commanded respect . . . that, and her mastery of a unique style of martial arts that could rival most instructors in their respective fields. That was not an assumption, it was proven fact.

Danny walked over to his sister in trepidation. He waved his hand around frantically, dispersing the crowd of students.

"Come to my office," Jazz commanded.

Another thing about Jazz that commanded respect was the fact that she had her own on-school office. She had taken the liberty of converting an unused classroom into a psychiatric evaluation center. In her office was an assortment of books in psychology, a very nice desk, one of those computer chairs that spins around in circles, and plethora of other stuff Danny only guessed was psychology related in some way.

"Sit," She commanded as they entered the room. Danny obeyed and sat on the large comfy chair that looked like it was built in the reclined position while Jazz shut the door. She chose to sit in her comfy, but not as large, chair rather than at her desk. "Want to venture a guess as to why I brought you in here?"

"No, not really. I was hoping you'd explain that."

Jazz sighed and ceased maintaining of the official air in the room. "Danny, I saw what you did with that new, what's her name, Penelope? Yes, that Penelope girl."

"I didn't do anything! She's the one who kissed me!"

"Yet you didn't object?"

"Well . . . no, but what was I supposed to do?"

"Look, I'm not the principal, I'm not the superintendent or whatever other position of authority this school has. I'm the psychiatrist. I'm also your sister, and I'm concerned about the way things have been going for you lately."

"Why?" Danny growled. "I don't know why everyone's getting on my back. I know there's cause for concern as of late because my attitude's changed; for the better. Have you noticed how I've been happier this past week? Have you noticed my grades have improved? Maybe not that much, but that's beside the point. I've been getting a good night's sleep, I've been able to eat breakfast in the mornings, sometimes even shower so I don't have to at night. My life's only gotten better since Penelope came here, but people seem to think that, since I'm usually tired, grouchy or stupid I'm supposed to stay that way. I like being happy, Jazz, and this is the first time since the accident that-"

Danny clapped his hands over his mouth with horror etched into his features. He had come a hairsbreadth away from revealing his secret to his sister and anyone else within earshot.

Jazz looked at him with . . . what was it? Concern? Confusion? Disbelief? Stress? With Jazz it could have been all of them at once.

"I see," she said quietly. "Are you done?"

"Yeah, I think so," Danny replied shakily. He was curious as to why his sister was not bringing up the issue of the accident, but as long as it stayed that way, _he_ was not going to bring it up.

"Look, we're concerned not because you're happy, we're concerned because of they way you choose to express this happiness. I don't want to have to break it to you, but public displays of affection aren't smiled upon in this school."

"Then why hasn't Tucker's been taken away?"

Jazz smiled. "Good to see you still have your sense of humor." Her smile faded. "But you've been around Sam for almost your whole life and you've never just started making out with her after lunch."

"It's different," Danny started. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sam's my best friend, why would I do something like that?"

Jazz considered telling her poor clueless brother what Tucker and Samantha had confided in her so many months ago, but decided to let Danny figure out Sam's feelings on his own. It was decidedly better that way. The temptation was great, but it was quashed by the rise of another subject.

"And you asked her to a dance?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, the Valentine's Day Extra Vengeance Suprise thing. I asked her to that."

Jazz looked at him with saddened eyes. "Oh no! Who told you about it?"

"Tucker. Why?"

"Oh, that's supposed to be a surprise! The upper classmen are supposed to make it really awkward for you guys."

"He didn't tell everyone," Danny explained in the defense of his friend. "Just me and Sam, and I guess I told Penelope."

Jazz scowled at him. "Tucker's going to get in a heap of trouble with all of his technological prowess someday."

"Oh, I hope so," Danny said eagerly. "Can you imagine how funny that would be?"

Jazz gave him a quizzical look.

"Right. Sorry. So, can I go now?"

Jazz sighed and nodded. Danny got up from the chair, hugged his elder sister and walked to the door. "Just try and keep it PG, mister." Jazz advised.

Danny blushed slightly and left the office, leaving a very upset Jazz behind.

"I just hope she doesn't tell mom and dad."

Danny left his sister's office and rushed for his next class. Unseen to Danny, by his eyes or ghost sense, Penelope Spectra watched the boy she was playing like a deck of cards. A malicious grin washed over her invisible face and power surged into her invisible body. Unbeknownst to Casper High, all of the elation over the incident had died down by unnatural means. With their happiness gone, the student body resumed their dull, boring day without incident.

From the cieling, another pair of invisible optics observed the events and schemed. Revenge was a powerful tool, and by placing the right people in the right place at the right time, he would gain enough energy from a single human's revenge to physically manifest his own body. Then justice could be served.

* * *

"Danny, my boy! Word on the street is that you've got yourself a girlfriend!" 

Danny flinched as the booming voice of Jack Fenton, his father, echoed out from the kitchen as he arrived home. He glared at Jazz, who sat on the large couch in the living room looking over a psychology book. She looked up and smiled.

"Would that street happen to be called _Jazz is going to get it_ Street?"

Jack poked his head out of the kitchen. He scratched at the chef's hat on his head. "No, I don't think I've ever been there."

Danny sighed and made his way into the kitchen. "So," he asked as his dad was carefully adding ingredients into a bowl. "What's for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Jack exclaimed. "You're mom would be here helping, but she's down in the lab working on a new invention."

Danny nodded and sat down at the table.

"So, don't I get to hear about this new girl?"

"Oh, come on Dad, I'm just taking her to a dance, that's all."

"Mmm, well, I guess you have a point."

Not one to ever get his father to agree with him, Danny decided to press a bit further. "What point?"

"Well," Jack said while never turning his attention away from the task at hand. "In college, I must've done something right because one day, completely out of nowhere, Vanessa Masters came onto me like I was the greatest thing since sliced bread."

Danny twitched.

"We went to a dance or two and dated for a while, but it never really took off."

"So what'd you do?"

"I dumped her! Me, Jack Fenton, dumped Vanessa Masters! It was a solemn day, and I felt terrible about it. Senior year at Wisconsin University, though," Jack trailed off. "Oh, what a great year! That was the year I met your mother. We both got started on ghost research and, before we knew it, BAM!" Jack violently threw a sprinkle of flour into the bowl. "We had the proto-portal! Of course there was that bit about Vanessa's ecto-acne, and the whole thing about Harriet Chin having a big crush on me, but I don't regret anything. I just moved on and never looked back. And here we are, twenty years later and so much wealthier both in money and self worth."

"Wow dad," Danny said. "That was deep."

"Hmm? What? Did you say something?"

"Never mind."

"Say, a little bird told me you had a girlfriend! What's her name?"

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed. "She's not my girlfriend!" he objected. "At least I don't think. Her name's Penelope Spectra."

Jack stopped mixing ingredients in the bowl and turned to Danny with an incredulous look in his eyes.

"Penelope _Spectra?_"

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_A long chapter for you, my faithful readers. I hope this builds up some anticipation for . . . future events. I know there are DxS phangirls who read this story and don't review (25K+ hits incriminates you) so if this chapter doesn't pull you from the shadows of_ just _reading, I don't know what will. I guess I'll have to try harder with another female **ULTIMATEIZED** character. _

_Next chapter, Danny has an unlikely conversation . . . two, actually, but aside from that, its a pretty generic one. NOT THAT IT ISN'T GOOD QUALITY, just not action or fluff packed. _

_Thanks to the surge of reviews, everyone. Special thanks goes to_ TDG3RD, slyfoxx, Andrew Laplante, MissMeliss4251, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Phantom5656, Sapphire Wolf Master, darkbunny92, Skye-chan, leadfoot352, Hidden Page _and _dannyphantomfangirl13.

**_F_ TO THE _E R G_ THE _I _THE _E_ AND -**

**GUNSHOTS**

**I'M SORRY, I CAN'T STAND THAT SONG . . . **


	35. A Learning Experience 6

Chapter XLII

"You . . ." Danny looked at his father in puzzlement. "Know her?"

Jack Fenton's serious expression melted into a jovially content one. "Never heard of her!"

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes. Jack returned to making the dough for the pizza.

"But with a name like _Spectra_, maybe she likes ghosts! Hey, you should bring her here and introduce us to her! Your mother can make cookies and I can blather on about ghosts!"

"No! No, that's not going to happen," Danny sternly objected.

"Aw, why not?" Jack whined. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, but the only friends of yours we ever get to see is Tucker and your ex-girlfriend, Sam."

"My WHAT? Dad, Sam is _not_ my ex-girlfriend."

"So you're still seeing her! Great! Hey, wait a second; you're seeing them both at the same time?"

Danny slammed his head down on the table. Of course, still only a novice at controlling his powers, his body decided to become intangible at that moment and Danny yelped as he found himself crashing to the floor under the table.

"No, dad, I'm not. Technically, I'm not seeing either of them!"

Jack knelt down and grinned at his son, who had yet to find the motivation to move himself from under the table. "Well that's too bad. If you were, I would be able to help you out there."

Danny looked at his dad in shock. "Y-you dated two girls at the same time?"

Jack let out a knowing laugh. "Ever see that movie where the guy dates _three_ girls at the same time? You know, the one with that guy?"

"Yeah, and he does that thing? I think so, why?"

"That story pretty much sums it up."

Danny shot out from under the table. "_You_ dated **_three_** girls at the same time?"

Jack, who had begun to work on a second dough, chuckled. "Those were the days. I was lucky enough to not have to worry about school work because the stuff came to me pretty easily, and I needed to kill time or I would've gone insane with boredom."

"So you decided to date three girls at the same time?"

"Yup! And, can you believe, all of them liked to listen to me blather on about ghosts? And none of them tried to kill me!"

"Who were they?"

Jack rubbed his chin, coating it with flour. "Harriet Chin . . ." Jack looked at the area now covered with the ingredient he had been using and wiped it off with a towel. "No pun intended," he mumbled, "and two other ladies you'll probably never meet. A while after that gig was up, I met Vanessa Masters. Boy was that great! She loved talking about ghosts and helping me with experiments and weapons and all that jazz."

"What?" Jazz called from the family room.

"Nothing, sweet heart, don't worry," Jack called in response. "Anyway, life was great for a few months, but then I started to realize that my life was still missing something. Sure, Vanessa cared about me and my, I guess you could call it _fascination_, with ghosts, but she really didn't understand where I was coming from or where I wanted to go. That relationship lost its spark and died down and, a few weeks later, I met your mother."

Jack turned his attention to his son, who was sitting at the table absorbing the whole thing.

"Danny, let me tell you, it took such a long time to find out your mother liked me because I was so clueless. Even when I did something ridiculously stupid, she stood by me. I thought we were just friends for the longest time before I finally realized it. That relationship took off and here we are, twenty years later, married with two kids."

Jack gazed off into space for a moment. "You're going to make a lot of choices in your life. There are going to be a few accidents along the way, but just know it all happens for a reason. It's those experiences that shape the man you're going to become someday, so don't regret anything because you'll either regret nothing . . . or everything."

Jack smiled to himself and went back to making the dough's for the pizza. Danny sat in bewilderment. His father, the often thought incompetent Jack Fenton, had just given to him the greatest piece of advice since Ben Parker. And Ben Parker wasn't even a real person . . . at least not the Ben Parker who was a certain web-slinging super hero's uncle.

"Wow, thanks dad." Danny said.

"You're welcome son, now can you be a good boy and go take a poll? I need to know who wants what on their pizza before I stick them in the oven. Otherwise we're all going to have just _cheese_." Jack cringed at the word.

Out of the ordinary occurrences didn't just happen at the Fenton household, they were imprinted on the family's DNA. For example, nobody in the family, immediate or extended on both sides, could have _just_ a cheese pizza. There had to be at least one topping, which was no problem for anyone. Fenton-made pizza usually had at least four toppings to please each member of the family. Danny asked his sister and mother what they wanted before relaying the data to his father along with his own decision.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be!" Jack exclaimed as he opened the fridge and foraged the desired food.

For some inexplicable reason, those words made Danny uncomfortable, but he brushed it off. In under an hour, the family was gathered at the table, ready to dig into the anchovy, sausage, green pepper and crab pizza.

"So Danny," Maddie said as she set a piece of pizza down on her plate. "What's this I hear about you having a girlfriend?"

Jazz looked at him with a sly grin and Jack blissfully ate his pizza. Danny sighed, having lost this battle.

"Her name's Penelope Spectra and she's new."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Maddie commented.

"Danny was a bit reluctant to let me know of his status in my office," Jazz stated, "But I figured a bit of parental influence would open him up."

"I'm so proud," Jack said with a sniffle. "Our boy is growing up, Maddie! Soon he'll be learning how to tie his shoes and eat Oreos. Before you know it he'll be off at some college we've never heard of majoring in ghosts!"

"Jack, that's not a real subject," Maddie noted with concern for her son's future. "Maybe Danny could major in Spectral Analysis!" She said happily. "You always seemed like you'd grow up to be a peaceful, calm, relaxed man. Just like you were when you were a little boy."

Danny chuckled. "People change, mom. Maybe I'd want to-" Danny froze, realizing he had started down a path he might not have been able to weasel out of. Saying he wanted to hunt ghosts _now_ would subject him to a life of preparation in the field. He wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.

"Maybe I'd want to do something that requires physical activity and may or may not be related to ghosts," he said in a loud, obnoxious, monotonous voice. "I don't know," he continued, "I'm only a freshman."

Suddenly, Danny's head rocked forward as he let out a tremendous sneeze. Thankfully he had covered his mouth. He looked into his hands and saw the residue from his ghost sense, although it was fading.

"If you'll excuse me," Danny said. "I've gotta go to the bathroom."

Danny ran from the kitchen and locked himself in the restroom. He transformed into Phantom and fazed out the window. He looked around and saw a small ghost flying around. It wasn't a mutant animal fusion like most of the ones he battled. Instead, this one looked like a green rectangle with spikes on top of the head and at the end of its body. Danny let out a relieved chuckle.

"Well, thank goodness. At least I don't have to-"

"Fight me?" said the bone chilling, blood freezing, heart stopping voice of Plasmius.

Danny spun around and saw the unmistakable figure floating behind him; her cape billowing in a slight breeze.

"What do you want, Plasmius?" Danny growled. His eyes flared brighter than usual and he took a defensive stance.

"Oh calm down, Daniel, I didn't come here to fight you."

"Oh really? Then what did you come here to do? Rip open my mom's neck? Throw my dad into a mental breakdown? Vaporize my sister? Kill a king or some harmless animal?"

"Ah, so word slipped out that the Dairy King did not prevail in our little scuffle. I suppose you might have figured that out anyway, although I m disappointed I didn't get to tell you myself."

"I figured you'd like to, you demented, heartless-"

"What was that, Daniel?" Plasmius growled. "Go on, finish that sentence."

"You know, cursing brings me down to your level; it makes me like you, and I'm nothing like you."

"No? What about this incredible power we both share? What about our desire for more power?"

"It's different," Phantom explained angrily. "You want power to destroy; I want it to stop you!"

"The only way to stop my quest to achieve my ambitions would be to terminate my existence, which means you want more power to destroy me, thus we both want power to destroy. We really are two of a kind."

Phantom clenched his fists and prepared to launch an attack, but hesitated. Plasmius wasn't doing anything. _Other than_ existing.

"You never answered my first question," Phantom muttered.

"If your feeble teenage mind simply cannot continue to function without the answer, I am hunting for a potentially dangerous ghost."

"Really?" Phantom asked sarcastically.

"Really," Plasmius confirmed. "I guess that's three things we share. Keep talking, Daniel, at this rate we might end up related!"

Phantom ignored her. "Maybe I should find this ghost first. Maybe it would help me kick your butt."

"You never even landed a punch on me," Plasmius retorted smugly. "Besides, this ghost wouldn't want to help you any more than he wanted to help me. Even _after_ I freed him."

"What was his name?" Phantom asked, curious about an entity that could cause this she-devil problems.

"Like you would know. My little friend here told me it saw him in the park. I was on my way to look, but decided to drop by."

Phantom watched as the spiky green ghost slithered through the air and perched itself on Plasmius' shoulder. It had been laughing a high-pitched evil laugh earlier, but now it sounded like it was purring.

"Ah, the joys of having a loyal pet," Plasmius said as she patted the ghost's head. "Speaking of pets, word on the street is that you've got yourself a girlfriend!" Plasmius said with genuine interest. "I guess the power of luck pulled through for you after all."

"How the heck did you find out?"

"Oh, there was the nicest little Hispanic girl standing outside your cafeteria during lunch. What was her name now, hmm. Was it Prissy? Piñata? No, none of those. I know it started with a P . . ."

"Paulina?" Phantom offered.

"Yes, that was the one! Paulina! Such a dimwitted girl with such an open mind! She really was fun to overshadow."

"You overshadowed Paulina?!"

"How else would I know about your big romantic feat? You think Paulina would actually scoff at a relationship? It's nothing to be ashamed of, really. And she got a hard time because of her choice of words. Personally, I think you did a good job."

"Y-you mean you-"

"Oh please," Plasmius waved dismissively. "The last thing I need is an accusation of pedophilia on my record."

Phantom sighed, but regained his composure as Plasmius floated up for the top of Fenton Works. Phantom followed. He saw Plasmius shoo away her pet _thing_ and sit on the multi-layered steel roof of the OP Center.

"Sit with me, Daniel," Plasmius said while patting the cold surface next to her.

"I'm ok up here," Phantom replied from his spot in the air.

The ghost boy felt on edge, waiting for Plasmius', but the ghost woman was savoring her time alone with her _future son_.

"So," she ventured. "How have your regenerative abilities been coming along?"

"What? Oh, I don't know. I've been getting better at this ghost fighting thing since you keep sending your abominations after me, so I don't get hurt as often."

"Have you been able to duplicate the incident from the night at my castle?"

Phantom looked at Plasmius with an angry expression. "You come all the way out here to remind me of that night? I _just_ got over the nightmares a week ago. Don't bring them back up."

Plasmius smiled. "Of course," She consented. It was obvious that, even if she continued to press the issue and he flew into a rage, she could still defeat him. She let the issue drop, however and gazed at the night sky with her enemy floating near her.

"So, other than your big moment of fame and popularity, how was your day?"

Phantom looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "You expect me to answer that?"

"I'd like you to."

"This is stupid. Here you are, the woman who tried to kill my family in a single night, sitting on my roof. What's that, mom and dad? No, she's not here to kill you, mom. She's not here to steal you away, dad. She's not here to pummel me within an inch of my life, she's here to _shoot the breeze_." Phantom snorted in disgust. "I should be inside eating dinner . . . with my _family_," he emphasized the end of the sentence.

Plasmius flinched at his verbal jab. "And I would fly to the park to search for my query, alone. Then I would fly for several hours back to Wisconsin, alone. I would enter my castle, alone, and spend the night watching over computers and various creatures with only the occasional check-in by Skulker, otherwise alone. Then I'd go up to my room and fall asleep. _Alone_."

"And I fail to see how I should feel guilty by this. You want to kill my mom and marry my dad."

"True," Plasmius said. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Phantom growled angrily. "Leave. Now."

"Or?"

"Or . . . I'll, uh . . . hmm." Phantom scratched his chin. He hadn't thought about how to deal with the woman who was more powerful than he could imagine. Then he snapped his fingers as an idea popped into his head. "I'll expose you!"

"And I'll return the favor," Plasmius said as she brushed off some non-existent dust from her attire. "Really, if you expose me, you expose yourself."

"I'm willing to risk it. My parents will accept me no matter what. I'm their only son. But you? After I get done telling them what you've done, my dad will hate you more than he loves ghost hunting. And that's saying something."

Plasmius opened her mouth to say something, but found that she was at a loss for words. "Congratulations, Daniel. Using an enemy's psychological weakness against them rather than a physical one, you are learning." she said with enthusiasm as she floated up off the cold steel roof of the OP Center. "You've won your first battle against me. I'll leave . . . for now. The next time we meet, I won't sit peacefully under the stars and try to strike up a conversation."

"The next time we meet, you'll be too far gone to even _see_ the stars," Phantom growled.

"Ah, the temper! I absolutely _adore_ it!" Plasmius betrayed her mature, stern attitude with a short excited giggle. She calmed herself and stared at Phantom with a grin. "Be careful of your little girlfriend, Daniel," she warned. "She's not who she appears to be. And, just to give you an extra hand with this one, pay close attention to your real friends."

"I pay enough attention to them already. That's _why _they're my friends."

"Heed my advice, Daniel. You'll thank me for it."

Before Phantom could reply, Plasmius disappeared in a wisp of pink ectoplasmic smoke. The small, spiky green ghost visibly slumped and floated off towrds the park. Phantom shook his head and fazed back into his house. He returned to his human form and exited the restroom, noticing that everyone had gone. He sighed and looked at a plate with his pizza on it. Grabbing a slice, he looked at the clock. It was nine thirty, which meant he had spent almost an hour with Plasmius.

Danny sighed at the wasted time and took a bite of his food before making his way up to his room. Jazz's light was on and he heard her talking to friends from behind her closed door. His parent's room had an eerie blue glow that could only be the television. His father's snoring confirmed that there was nothing, ghostly or otherwise, going on. Danny lazily trudged into his own room and flopped down on his bed, having finished his pizza.

He almost regretted bluffing to his arch nemesis about his parents' love for him. True, they loved him unconditionally as their son, but they would never love his ghost half. Ever. In retrospect, he hadn't lied completely to Plasmius. His parents might hate him if they found out about his ghost half, but he hadn't done anything directly to them. If he told them what Plasmius had done, what she was trying to do, well, she'd be a bit worse off.

Danny pushed the thoughts aside. His eyes slowly closed and he was rewarded with a deep, dreamless sleep.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_26,000 hits!_ Huzzah! _Nearing 370 reviews!_ Huzzah! _I have a date to the prom!_ HUZZAH!

_Yes, a most joyous occasion. I appreciate everyone's support with everything and I look forward to that continued support. So Jack's full of helpful advice (to be honest,_ I _didn't even see the dating thing coming. It just hit me, and I was like_ WHOA! _That has to go in there!) and Plasmius gives premonitions to our young hero. Next chapter . . . I forget- I mean, can't tell you because it would ruin the surprise! So, keep reading and keep reviewing because I love reviews and my reviewers._

_Speaking of my reviewers, let me give a shout out to_ MissMeliss4251, HiddenAuthor, Phantom5656, Andrew Laplante, leadfoot352, Skye-chan, TDG3RD _and_ mzullos5.

**I BROUGHT SEXY BACK . . . LET'S GO FIND PROMISCUOUS!**


	36. A Learning Experience 7

Chapter XLIII

Maddie Fenton sat at the kitchen table, looking into her cup of coffee glumly. Jack bounded up from the lab with a cheerful expression on his face.

"Great news, baby!" the robust man proclaimed as he entered the kitchen. "I finished the _Ghost Goggles_!"

Maddie cast a half hearted smile at her husband, who was wearing a helmet with a pair of goggles that extended down over his eyes. Jack slowly removed the device from his head and sat down next to his wife.

"What's wrong, Maddie?" he asked sincerely. "You seem almost as upset as the day of the proto-portal accident."

"Oh Jack," the huntress sighed. "We've been following up on that ghost child for months, and we can't find anything conclusive. Every lead brings us to a dead end, and all we have to answer our questions are even more questions. All we have are theories, and that doesn't do much for us."

Maddie faced her husband, worry etched into her face. "Jack, Danny could be in grave danger, and we can't do anything about it!"

Jack's mouth bent up at the corners. "I was wondering when we'd pick up this conversation again," he said slyly. "That's why I placed a bunch of ecto-sensors and cameras in and around the house!"

Maddie looked at her husband in shock. "Jack, when did you do that?" she exclaimed. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Aw, come on," he said in an exasperated tone. "We both know who the competent one around here is." A slight blush crept into Maddie's face. "I thought I'd think outside the box, you know, get myself some credit!"

The woman was grateful for two things. First, her children had already left for school. The Fenton's tended to get boisterous when excited. Second, her husband could have made a breakthrough in their search for the truth.

"So, I set up cameras and microphones in the living room, the upstairs hallway, outside everyone's room and outside the bathrooms. The ecto-sensors are right next to them. There are also a couple cameras in the alley next to and beside the house. I didn't have enough mics to put with them, so I only got video footage." Jack pulled a schematic to the main part of the building. "There's also a camera on the OP Center and, until a few nights ago, I didn't think it was gonna do us any good at all. But just wait until you see this!"

Jack grabbed his wife by the wrist and dragged her down the stairs into the laboratory. Setting her in front of the computer, he double-clicked on a folder labeled DP.

"Why name the folder that?" Maddie asked curiously.

"Well, we're concerned about Danny's well being, but we're also searching for this Phantom character. Besides, it was short and I was kinda in a hurry. The files uploaded almost before I could create the- oh, here it is!"

Jack had located the file within the folder and opened it. The video player on the computer loaded, expanded to the high-definition, full screen view and depicted a series of film clips. The first one showed Danny entering the restroom during supper. Maddie heard the door shut behind him and listened as an even stranger sound echoed out from the small enclosed space. At first it sounded like glass breaking, but the inevitable shattering that came after was replaced by what sounded almost like a whine, not very different than the ecto-weapons she and her husband created. A flash of light slipped from the crack under the door, matching up with the sound.

The view changed to the alley next to the house. A small, green ghost was flying about, its mouth wide open and a wicked smile on its face, but no sound was heard. Phantom came from a window, disdain apparent from his features. He chuckled as he spotted the harmless ghost, but then spun around in time to see another humanoid specter, this one a female.

This one floated down into the camera's line of sight and Maddie watched as Phantom exchanged words with the caped wraith, but again, no sound was heard. Throughout the silent film, Phantom looked as though he would launch into an attack, but something held him back. Eventually, the female ghost floated to the top of the house, Phantom not too far behind.

The view switched yet again to overlook the top of the OP Center. The female ghost sat down in sight of the camera, her back facing the lens. She beckoned to Phantom, but he apparently declined whatever invitation was offered. The two talked, although from Maddie's angle, the female ghost was talking, pausing, reacting to whatever Phantom said and continued talking. Phantom eventually floated into view, partially at least, and exchanged some last words with the ghost. She drew back at something the child had said and finally departed. Phantom, rather than follow, fazed back into the house. The view switched once more, this time back inside the house. The same flash of light and odd noise occurred and Danny Fenton exited the room, looking rather glum.

Maddie pushed away from the computer and slowly rotated the computer chair to face her husband. His eyes twinkled with glee at his discovery, but the rest of his body betrayed none of his inner joy.

"So?" Jack asked eagerly.

"Danny runs into the restroom while we're eating," Maddie said, retelling the events from the video.

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

"He's in the bathroom and there's a strange sound and a flash of light."

"Yes."

"Phantom appears near our house, watches the stars and has a conversation with a female ghost, and then goes back into the house."

"Yes."

"Jack, do you think . . . Danny and Phantom _are_ . . . one in the same?"

The large man looked at his wife with an unreadable expression. His head jerked back and he bellowed his laugh throughout the house. He fell back onto the ground, laughing so hard that tears began to form in his eyes. He slowly stopped laughing, although it took a while, and managed to stand. He rubbed his sore sides from the explosion, but it was worth the pain.

"Ma-ha-ha-ddie!" he said humorously. "You and I both know that it's impossible for a human to have ghost powers! That's just poor science!"

"Jack, how can you just rule out that possibility? That's the best one we have to go on anymore!"

"Maddie," Jack said in astonishment. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious . . . or at least half way there."

Jack scratched his head and concentrated.

"You do know what window Phantom fazed out of, right?"

Jack looked up. "The . . . bathroom window."

"And, you're the one who drew up the schematics for the entire OP Center, so tell me, where exactly does Phantom reenter our house?"

Jack's expression changed from _deep-in-thought_ to _oh-my-ghost_. "Right above the same bathroom."

"Now tell me, why on earth would Danny rush into the bathroom, make a strange noise and flicker a light? Why would he sit there for almost two hours doing nothing? And how would he be able to time it just right so that Phantom would slip out of the house as he went into the bathroom and go back into the house as he came out? Danny's not that good at math, dear."

"But baby, think of what you're saying! You and I've been on the same page all our lives! Hybrid ghost-humans just can't exist!"

"Why not?"

Jack staggered back, almost as if he'd been hit in the gut with a sledgehammer. "Have you_ forgotten_ those samples of DNA we tested back in college? We exposed them to ectoplasm to watch the effects. The human DNA decomposed at an accelerated rate. If Danny was exposed to ectoplasmic contamination, he . . . would die."

Maddie's eyes shot open, remembering the experiments. "How long?" she whispered desperately.

"Madeline," Jack said reassuringly, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. He never used her full first name unless he absolutely needed to. "Danny is _fine_. If he had been contaminated, he would have died almost instantaneously afterwards."

He stood upright. "Now tell me, how many of our children did you wrestle out of bed this morning?"

"Two," she admitted.

"How many of our children did you make breakfast for?"

"Two."

"And how many clean plates were placed in the dish washer before they were shooed off for school?"

"Three."

Jack bit back a belch and beamed. "So, I take it we still have our only son with us? Here on earth, not in the Ghost Zone?"

"Yes," Maddie admitted.

"Swell! So, that proves it, then! Danny and Phantom are two entirely different people! Or, ghosts . . . you know what I mean. Come on; let's see if I can't get those rockets attached to the Specter Speeder!"

Maddie smiled. After several hours of hard work, her mind was back in its peaceful, logical state. Really, a ghost-human hybrid? Who ever heard of such a ridiculous thing?

* * *

Danny looked at the front doors of Casper High. He was preparing himself for what lay behind those doors. Plenty of unwanted attention, which was undoubtedly inside, would lead to nervousness, nervousness would lead to a power control failure and his secret would be out. There was also the issue of Tucker, who was against his choice to ask to the dance coming up. There'd be no telling his reaction to Danny's experience the day before. The possibility of faculty involvement made it all the worse, but perhaps the biggest thing worrying him was Sam. 

_Sam._ Danny drifted off for a moment. She was such a nice girl, always watching his back, always doing her best to cover for him, always being there when he needed someone to talk to, who _wasn't_ the back of a PDA. She was so kind and gentle and sweet and caring and tender and loveable-

Danny stopped his train of thought and backed up. True, Sam was all of those things and more. Even though he wouldn't deny it, where in the world had _loveable_ come from? That seemed to be one of the things Danny just set in the back of his mind, partially because Sam herself was going for a more gothic, angsty appeal anyway and all those buttery emotions didn't seem to blend with her adopted personality.

What was the cause of his sudden subconscious outburst of feelings for Sam? Was there a deeper meaning?

_Of course,_ Danny thought to himself with a slap to the forehead. _Sam's mad because she's protective of me! She's just making sure I don't go and hurt myself. She's such a great friend; I better go apologize for making her feel so worried._

Danny entered the halls of Casper High and saw that everyone looked especially . . . uninterested. Students lazily moved around, not even bothering to close lockers all the way, drink from the water fountain correctly or even associate with each other properly.

Out of all the various tones of lackluster Danny saw, he failed to notice that even the slightest of human contact, a wave or a hello, quickly erupted into a full blown fist fight. He thought it was a bug or something going around until he saw Sam. She really was pretty, beautiful even, but Danny's temporary sensual euphoria at seeing his friend lasted a split second as she spied him and marched at him with fire in her amethyst eyes. Tucker looked up at Danny, shook his head and went back to fiddling with his technology. Penelope saw Sam's charge and rushed to intercept.

"You **jerk**!" Sam growled as she stood in front of Danny.

The boy's happiness was replaced by confusion and fear. Sam had been acting rather strangely the day before, but a blunt confrontation?

"Sam, what's wrong?" Danny asked genuinely.

"Don't give me that," she continued in her terror-inducing tone. "I leave you so many hints, but your clueless-boy-brain just can't understand _anything_ unless you're spoonfed!"

"Hints about what?"

Sam's eye twitched, but she seemed to be controlling herself much better than the rest of the student body. "Maybe I wanted you to ask _me_ to that dance tonight! Maybe I wanted you to get all googley eyed about _me_ every once in a while! Maybe I wanted you to ki-"

Penelope chose that moment to step between Sam and Danny, facing the distraught girl.

"Sam, this needs to stop," she said soothingly.

"No," she hissed. "This needs to _end_, **NOW**!"

Penelope gasped as Sam grabbed her by the neck and hoisted her up off the ground. All commotion in the halls screeched to a halt, as everyone was too shocked to even move, Danny among them. Sam spun around and launched Penelope into a locker. She smiled as the dull green metal bent inward from the force of the impact. Penelope stumbled to her feet.

"Please, Sam!" she begged. "Don't!"

The plea fell on deaf ears as Sam launched a vicious roundhouse kick into her opponent's jaw. Danny watched in horror as saliva and blue blood exploded from the kick- wait a second. _Blue_ blood?

Although the realization was extremely important, Danny simply could not find the ability to move.

Sam stormed over to the battered form of Penelope and pulled her up by her shirt. It ripped as Sam violently yanked it and followed through with a punch to the stomach. Penelope yelped in pain as she found herself pinned to the locker. Sam's forearm pressed into her neck as she delivered a series of savage blows to her foes torso with her free hand. Sam stepped back and scratched at Penelope's neck, conveniently severing the last several buttons that hadn't been ripped from the shirt. Said article of clothing fell open, revealing to the wandering eyes of Casper High the bust of Penelope Spectra. Of course she was still wearing a bra . . .

Sam sideswiped Penelope with a swift movement and dropped the girl hard. Sam straddled her torso and began pounding the girl's face into the tiled floor. Penelope's eyes flared blue.

"So, this is how it goes down, huh?"

Penelope, while still lying on the floor under Sam's surprising strength, swung her legs up and clamped her feet over Sam's head. With hardly any effort, Penelope swung her legs back and sent Sam flying into the adjacent lockers. Sam was taken aback, much like the rest of the students observing the fight, but she didn't falter. Penelope lunged forward and sliced her offender across the face with her razor sharp nails. Four red gashes appeared on Sam's cheek.

Sam brought her hand up to her face and gasped when her fingers came away with just a hint of red. "You . . . _bitch_!" came the enraged shriek.

She threw herself at Penelope, scratching, punching and kicking with fury Danny had never seen in any ghost. Sam, while landing many formidable blows, was backhanded across the face and sent spinning in a one hundred and eighty degree angle. Penelope grabbed her by the skirt and began to pull at the fabric. Danny heard the material tearing.

"**_Alright, that's enough!_**" He bellowed. The two girls ceased fighting immediately. Danny strode up to them, a deep scowl on his face. "What is the _matter_ with you two!" He cried, flinging his arms up in the air.

"Hey, what's the matter with _you_?" One of the teens dressed in all black said. His hair was dyed a bright green, which was odd since his hair was naturally brown. Various piercings littered his face, and chains hung from every conceivable pocket or loop on his clothes. "We almost got to see Manson _de-pantsed_! You_ ruined_ it!"

The crowd of similarly dressed boys gave their support and their anger grew louder.

They couldn't match Danny's anger, though. Not by a long shot.

"What did you just say, _punk?_" he spat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't come over there right now and _tear your eyes out!_"

The emo, punk, and Goth kids looked at him in shock. Fenton _never _shouted. Except for that one time, but never this loud . . . or threatening.

Danny stormed over to the group of darkly dressed boys, but his demeanor made their attire look like frilly summer dresses.

"Get out of my sight, you scum," he hissed. "And if you _EVER_ say _ANYTHING_ like that about her _AGAIN,_ you're going to wish I _had_ torn your eyes out."

The teens were cowering in fear. Danny fought every ounce of his urge to go ghost. He battled to even keep his eyes blue, but he would do nothing about his anger. He looked at them with such contempt that they fled in terror, tears streaming from the eyes of the majority. Only the true Goths had been able to appreciate the darkness Fenton had displayed. The others had wet themselves, but all of them had run.

The rest of the students still in shock, Danny made his way over to Sam. She looked a bit worse for wear, although she had come out the victor for the most part. Danny flashed her a smile, but that was a mistake. His brow was furrowed, and the smile seemed to be the icing on the cake; he looked positively _evil_. Sam trembled before him, afraid of what he might, and could, do.

Danny's expression softened, unaware of his mistake and brushed several strands of disheveled hair out of Sam's face. She gave a weak smile and Danny gave one of his own; this time, a comforting, approving smile. Sam rested her head against Danny's chest and let her tears out. Danny wrapped his arm around her and began to lead her away.

Passing Penelope along the way, Danny turned to look at her with rage. She seemed taken aback, but Danny flared his neon green eyes and her surprise melted into a knowing smile. Without further incident, Danny traversed the halls of Casper High, escorting his dearest friend to safety.

* * *

On the seldom used third floor of Casper High, an eerie green light emanated from inside an almost ancient locker. Not having been used in years, this part of the school was all but forgotten. That made it easier for the green light to form undetected. It made it so much easier for the locker to swing open with a bang and fall off its hinges to the floor after almost fifty years of inactivity. It was as simple as taking candy from a baby for the ghastly form of a teenager dressed in dress shoes, dress pants, a button-up shirt and a Casper High varsity football jacket to float out from the locker. 

Now that he had acquired a maintainable form, serving justice to those who inflicted fear and suffering would be as easy as disappearing in a wisp of green ectoplasmic smoke . . . to prepare for his hunt for _bullies_.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Wow, I can't believe I forgot the catfight! I guess that was a nice surprise for you, especially the DxS Phangirls (please review! I know you're out there!) That was a nice, long chapter, right? Well good news; the next one's longer._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially _MissMeliss4251, Phantom5656, leadfoot 352, Hidden Author, Andrew Laplante _and_ TDG3RD.

_Speaking of reviews, I'm offering a reward. Whosoever leaves the 700th review shall recieve the glory to create their own ghost for this story, given that it is _appropriate_, despite my discontent with OC's. It won't be a major villian, just one of those humorous nuiscances that seem to pop up out of nowhere for no other reason than comic relief._

_You pick the name, appearance, garb, powers and a corny catch-phrase if you so desire. It will appear at least once every chapter, assuming you don't want to kill it off, and will be dispatched by Danny in whatever way you see fit. There's no rush, because I'll pick you out eventually and I know my 700th review is pretty far off._

_I'll bring this up again once UDP enters the 650 range. _

_Best of luck,_

_Grumbles_


	37. A Learning Experience 8

Chapter XLIV

"Detention?!" Exclaimed Danny and Sam simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, Miss Manson," Principal Ishiyama said solemnly. "You're the only one punishable for this act. Danny didn't do anything and you're the one who instigated the fight. Penelope's acts, while in violation of school policy, were done out of self defense."

Bruised and tattered, Sam rested her head on Danny's shoulder. The two had been ushered into the principal's office shortly after their visit to the nurse. There hadn't been too much damage, but Danny was still feeling protective and Sam, while strong willed and independent, was still vulnerable. Especially to ghosts.

"Although you're being punished, I can wait to administer your detention until next week," the woman said with a wink. "I wouldn't want you missing the dance tonight."

Danny and Sam smiled at the woman, but she returned to her all-business appearance and shooed them away, feigning distraught. The teens left the office, Sam leaning on Danny, who held her close to his person, and made their way to their classes.

Spectra might have taken all the happiness from the school, but her intent to replace it with rage was stopped. Danny's own explosion of anger turned that rage into fear, and the fear would linger until the effects of her ghostly interference were gone.

* * *

"So, Sam got a detention and Danny's off the hook?" Tucker asked incredulously. "The tables have turned, so it seems." 

"Don't get used to it," Danny muttered.

Tucker rolled his eyes and smirked at his two friends across the table. Lunch had finally come around, and Sam was still under the constant vigilance of Danny.

"So, how about the dance later on?" Tucker pressed. "You still taking Penelope even though she's a ghost?"

"Not like I have much of a choice in the matter," Danny grumbled.

Sam scooted away from her friend's warm embrace and looked at him with shock. "You're serious? You'd still go with her after everything she did?"

"First of all, you _did_ start that fight." Sam scowled at the completely true accusation. "Secondly, I think we both know the other's secret and avoiding her isn't going to get her out of here. We need a plan, and since the rules of this dance don't permit stag attendance, you're going to need dates. Both of you."

Tucker proudly straightened out his collar. "I already have one, thanks."

"Who?" Sam asked. "Oh, no, wait, let me guess. Star?"

"No, actually." Tucker said with a hint of disappointment. "I thought the guys were supposed to ask for this one, but apparently it goes both ways."

"HA! Hey, I get it, like a bi-"

"Kwan? What are you doing here?" Danny interrupted.

"Oh, well, you know how Sam beat the crap out of your girlfriend, right Fenton?" Danny nodded, not trying to raise any suspicion. "Well, I just thought that was freaking awesome!" Kwan took a seat next to Tucker, who slid over to allow Kwan's muscular frame to comfortably fit at the table.

"You think so?" Sam asked. The semi-Goth and Danny turned red, but Sam's was from embarrassment, Danny's was from a subtle pang of jealousy.

"I know so!" Kwan exclaimed happily. "If I counted all the girls who could punch like you, well, I'd still have nine fingers left!"

Sam's blush deepened and Danny grew angrier.

"So," Kwan started. "I figure you already know about this whole Valentine's Day dance, and I just wanted to know, you know, if you'd like to go there . . . with me."

Sam's bashful blush blossomed into a deep red. A person on the A-List just asked her to a dance!

"I'd love to!" She said a bit too quickly. "I mean, yeah, sure! And if you get out of line, I can just smack you back down in your place."

Kwan laughed. "You're funny!" He scratched his head, curious if Sam would actually do something like that. Deciding that she wouldn't unless he really goofed up, Kwan set his smile back on his face. "I'll meet you here; we'll talk about dinner and stuff later."

"Ok," she said dreamily. "Bye."

Kwan had gotten up from the table after roughly tousling Tucker's beret and waved at Sam as he left.

"Wow," she said blissfully. "He asked me to the dance!" she giggled nervously. "Omigosh," her stupor suddenly replaced by worry, "what am I supposed to wear? Do I have to bring money? Do I need a ride? Should I walk? Where do you think we should go to eat afterwards?"

"Sam," Danny said with a forced laugh. "You'll do fine, I promise."

She stopped blathering, but the blush never left her face.

"So Tuck," Danny said, his attention back on his other friend, "who's the confused, misguided young lady who mistook you for a gentleman?"

"Valerie," he replied. "Honestly, I have no idea why. You're always the _cute one_, she hangs out with the A-List all the time and yet she picks me. I might have the brains and the fashion sense, but I'm being totally serious here when I say that I lack big time in the _looks_ department. And in the _know what the ladies like_ department."

"There's no such thing as the perfect guy, Tuck," Danny consoled. "You give what you have and hope that someone likes you for you."

"Yeah, alright. Speaking of_ perfect_, here comes Penelope."

Danny spun around and saw the girl, now with a new shirt, walking over to their table.

"Do we kick her out?" Sam suggested.

"No," Danny decided. "We can't draw suspicion. We need to keep this as normal as possible."

"Hello Danny, Tucker . . . Samantha," the last word was uttered with obvious contempt. Penelope sat next to Tucker, who gave her more room than he had given Kwan. "So, we still on for the dance?"

"Cut the crap, Spectra," Danny growled. "I know what you are, and I'm guessing you know what I am."

"Bravo, Danny," she said with false enthusiasm. "It only took you, what, two weeks? I've known about your . . . condition from the very beginning. What gave me away?"

"The fact that your blood is _fluorescent blue_ might have been the deciding factor."

"Ah, yes," Spectra resigned, rubbing her bruised jaw. "And may I congratulate you, Samantha. If that fight had gone on uninterrupted, you very well could have won, granted that I refrained from using my powers."

"I think I'd like to keep my skirt _on_, thank you," Sam growled. "There are enough perverts in this school, I don't need to encourage any more."

"So now that we're out in the open about who can do what," Danny interjected before another fight could break out, "why don't you tell me how you're not triggering my ghost sense?"

"And give away a tactical advantage? Well, you already know what I am, I suppose it couldn't hurt," Spectra mused. "Very well. Some ghosts are different than others. Most of the ones you fight aren't even natural, but a majority of them are. Those ones usually have the ability to manipulate ectoplasm and fire it in concentrated blasts. I, however, am different. I cannot fire ghost rays or manipulate ghost energy in such a way. I can do everything else, but there is one other thing I can do that is unique to me. I drain happiness and plant seeds of hostility, growing more powerful from all the-"

"That doesn't answer my question," Danny said in an annoyed tone.

" . . . I can take on a human disguise," she said simply. "It wouldn't fool a machine for a second, but humans are much more easily deceived."

Danny thought for a while about all the times she had been around and his ghost sense hadn't activated. Sam was trying not to explode at the ghost for manipulating her friend and Tucker was counting his earnings from the copies of the catfight he recorded. $300 wasn't bad for one day's sales.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Danny asked tiredly. It had been a long morning.

"I'll be checking out of school early, but don't you worry, I'll see you tonight at the dance! And I'll get myself a little more juice before going back to daddy."

"Daddy?" Danny said quizzically. "You have a dad?"

"Duh," Spectra replied. "Did you think I was just some hapless soul of a dead girl?"

"Yes, actually I did."

"Well, it's not uncommon. Anyway, I'll see you tonight, Danny!"

Spectra stood from the table and sauntered away, leaving three very angry and perplexed teens in her wake.

"So, how much ammo do we bring?" Tucker asked.

Danny looked from Tucker to Sam. "As much as you can sneak in."

* * *

Sydney Poindexter was quite possibly the strongest, fastest, smartest and best looking student to attend Casper High in its history. He commanded respect from his peers and repaid those loyal to him with fiercely loyal friendship. Elders approved of him because of his physical and mental superiority and his kindness displayed to all those who were fortunate enough to cross his path. 

Of course, those who appear perfect in every way tend to have a major flaw. Sydney Poindexter's flaw was bullying. Anyone who he deemed an outcast was subject to humiliation and degradation beyond what most victims of bullies can comprehend.

His targets were not only assaulted on school grounds, but anywhere they were found. Nobody went out of their way to find those "nerds", but Amity Park was smaller back in Poindexter's days; finding people wasn't so hard.

Life went on, with Poindexter's friends in good company and his victims with a good mind to stay out of his way. Of course, _the incident_ changed all of that. Over a period of a month, one by one, nerd after loser after geek was found dead, violently shoved into Sydney Poindexter's locker. With no other explanation, despite his claims of innocence, the high school senior was indicted and arrested on charges of manslaughter for all of the deaths and tried as an adult. Execution was a popular method used to dispose of criminals, and the electric chair spared not the King of Casper High.

It took nearly fifty years of dormancy and silent suffering for the strewn specter to finally reach a conclusion. Those who inflicted pain as he had would suffer the same fate. _Justice._

* * *

Danny stood in front of the school, a scowl carved into his face with no signs of leaving any time soon. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he fought the urge to change to his ghost half and prepare for battle. Sam and Kwan had arrived, and Sam's typical schoolgirl excitement had died twice on the ride over. Apparently Kwan was not as good with the ladies as he thought. Danny had grumbled his hellos and waved them inside. Not that he was the doorman; he was just making sure they got in without any . . . _astral altercations_. Tucker had arrived with the stunningly beautiful Valerie Gray several minutes later. Tucker was beaming as he walked to the front door with his date, but Valerie waved him on ahead. She stopped to give Tucker's PDA to Danny, so that he wouldn't get distracted. Danny happily obliged. 

Several couples later, Penelope made herself present. Danny had to admit, for an evil and manipulative spirit from another dimension, she looked incredible.

"So, are you ready?" she asked in a peppy tone.

"Am I ready to leave? Yes. Am I ready to go home, wash my mouth out with hydrochloric acid? Yes. Am I ready to not enjoy myself, here, with you? Yes, yes I am."

Spectra pouted, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "Come on, ghost boy," she sighed. "Let's just have a good time. I'll make a few more of your friends miserable and angry and then I'll leave. You'll never see me again, so you can do whatever," seeing that Danny was ogling Sam in her modest yet revealing attire, she added smugly, "or whoever you want."

Danny snapped back to reality. "What? Oh, yeah, ha, you're so-o-o-o-o funny I forgot to laugh . . . excluding that first _ha_."

"Oh please, how late were you up watching cartoons last night?"

"Spectra, it took three hours of preparing to come to this thing after school. Let's just say that my computer's hard drive . . . well, who am I kidding, I need a new one altogether. I'm not too proud of myself, but it was worth it."

Spectra cast him an unbelieving stare. "You're disgusting."

"Trust me, watching that stuff made you a whole lot less attractive. Now I don't have to worry so much."

Spectra looked at the floor dejectedly. "So you don't like me because I'm a ghost?"

"No, I don't like you because of what you're trying to do. I mean, the whole _you're a ghost_ and _I'm a human_ kinda makes it more uncomfortable, but you're just a terrible person, er, I mean, ghost, and I'd rather not associate with you. Ever. Again."

"I can't help who I am," she said quietly. "I'm sorry if I don't live up to your standards."

"My standards are simple," Danny objected. "You can't be evil, you can't be a ghost. You're oh-for-two."

Spectra looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry this didn't work out."

"Jeeze, why are you upset in the first place? You only came here to make everyone kill each other."

"If I brought you to daddy, he'd set me free. I'd be able to live my own life, maybe a benevolent one."

"You're your dad's slave?"

"Not really. Naturally born ghosts are supposed to earn their independence from their parents. Until then, they're more like hired hands."

"Hmm. Well, if _daddy_ can keep you in line after you go back and tell him his little plan failed, then he and I are going to get along nicely."

Spectra bit her trembling lower lip and hurried over to an empty table, glowing tears glistening in the dim light as they ran down her cheeks. Danny glowered at the ghost before making his way over to Sam, who was sitting alone.

"So, Kwan not all he was cracked up to be?" Danny asked humorously.

Sam sighed. "Not even close. All he talks about is football, and he talks about it like I know as much as he does. It's kinda sad, really. I think he only brought me to be an arm trophy."

Danny chuckled. "Well, the princess of evil plots is crying in a corner somewhere, and it appears that I'm without a date as well."

"So now what?" Sam asked with amusement.

"I guess that means we're a couple, by default. Kwan and I were typical jock guys, we ditched our respective dates, which are now up for grabs." Danny got down on one knee. "Sam, will you be my Valentine?"

The girl laughed as her cheeks tinged pink. "Of course I will. Here, Romeo, this is for you."

Danny plucked the chalky heart-shaped candy from Sam's hand and read it aloud. "I heart you," he said curiously. "What does _that _mean?"

"If you're a good boy you'll find out later," the girl with a devious grin.

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but another voice spoke.

"Fentonouski's gonna have to reschedule, Sam-an-tha," growled Dash Baxter. "Mr. Insensitive here needs to learn a lesson in proper manners."

Dash grabbed the smaller boy by the shoulder and painfully ushered him out into the hall. Danny tore his arm free from the bully and glared daggers at him.

"What's your deal, _Dexter_?"

Dash flinched at the mention of his real name. "_Nobody_ calls me that, freak. And nobody makes a pretty girl like Penelope cry. That's just mean."

"And you're gonna get avenge her tears, right here, right now. Am I right?"

"Yeah. Now hold still, this will _sting _a bit."

_**BULLIES!**_

Dash was blasted into a row of lockers. The concussive blast had rocketed out of the adjacent wall and sent the taller boy flying. Dash crumpled to the floor in pain. A long dent stretched across several of the dull green steel doors.

Danny spun to face the attacker and thought he was hallucinating. The only person standing there was a student. Definitely older than himself, probably a senior, but still, he was just a student.

"You," he hissed. "You are the one who shows forgiveness, mercy and pity to those who plague your existence." The young man's silhouette began to glow an eerie white. "They torment you and your friends, but you allow them to live. _Why_?"

Never taking his eyes off the ghost, Danny slammed a fist into his open hand, concentrating on his ghost form. On impact, the bright, sliver green ring formed around his fist and sped up his arm, over his head and shoulders, across his body and dissipated around his other side. Phantom dropped his arms and looked at the ghost, unsure about what course of action to take.

"You . . ." the ghost whispered with wide eyes. "You're the halfa?"

"The what-a?"

"The halfa! Half ghost, half human. You walk among the humans and float among the ghosts, but exist in a limbo somewhere in between the two worlds."

" . . . Th-this is just typical!" Phantom cried in exasperation. "I have to live as a ghost and a human. Ghosts hate me, people hate me, I have an arch enemy not even a year after getting my powers, my first kiss was with a ghost, a muscle-bound moron wants to pound me and, to top it all off, I'm called the halfa? What kind of a stupid name is that?!"

The ghost shrugged. "Hey, I heard some other ghost say it. I thought that's what you called yourself."

"Dude, this isn't the fifties," Phantom sighed. "Alright then. Thanks for moving Dash aside, but are you here to cause trouble, or just wandering around?"

"I'm here for justice. All bullies must be punished for-"

"And that's enough for me," Phantom interrupted. "Sorry whatever-your-name-is, I'm not going to let you hurt anyone."

"My name . . ." The ghost said, "is Sydney Poindexter. And I. Will. Not. Be. DENIED!"

Phantom was hit with a similar blast that knocked Dash into the wall of lockers. He was lucky enough to faze through them before causing more damage. The ghost child passed through them again, but found to his dismay that the ghost, Poindexter, had escaped.

Phantom touched down in the hall and growled. That made two ghosts in the area, and he wasn't about to let them join up and tear the school apart together. Phantom marched out into the gym, not bothering to go invisible. He saw Poindexter hovering behind Sam with a smug grin on his face.

Phantom hovered off the ground and charged up a blast of energy. This was drawing the attention of the students, who had stopped dancing and mingling to watch as Amity Park's hero began to move towards Sam.

"What's he doing?"

"Who's that other ghost behind Sam?"

"You think they're gonna fight?"

"Why'd you bring that mayonnaise here? Oh, look, its Phantom!"

Phantom had finally stopped advancing and floated next to Sam. The girl just seemed to notice the two ghosts floating above her and sighed. "You two are a little early for Halloween," she said.

"Maybe," Phantom replied. "But this guy's not gonna get to see anymore holidays. You might want to run."

"Bravo, Phantom," Sam said while slowly getting up. "You managed and angry comeback to that joke without the clichéd _just in time for fall_ getup. If you need anything, you know where the Fentons live."

"Yeah, yeah, get the heck out."

Sam rolled her eyes and left, leaving a very perplexed Poindexter looking from her to the ghost boy. "Friend of yours?" he asked.

"I'd hope so," Phantom replied angrily. "Now, stand down."

"Never!" hissed Poindexter. "That girl holds more rage than any other student in this school! It's beautiful!"

Phantom tilted his head to the side. "You are a sick, sick ghost."

"And you are a sick, sick boy," Poindexter countered. "Once I gather enough power from her rage, I will be unstoppable!"

"You won't get the chance!" Phantom shouted.

The ghost boy released the massive store of energy at Poindexter. It hit him in the abdomen, sending him up through the ceiling tiles. The ghost fazed through the far wall and charged, his hands glowing white.

Phantom prepared for an attack from his enemy, but found himself spinning as a chair smacked into his head. A table shot up from the floor and slammed into the hybrid. It sped at a wall and Phantom fazed through before it smacked into the brick, shattering.

"This place already has enough cafeteria-related trauma, thanks!" Phantom shouted as he fired more and more ghost-rays at his adversary. Each one was deflected by a floating chair or table.

"You cannot win!" Poindexter shouted as he maneuvered more tables and chairs to defend himself. "The rage in this place is so . . . powerful!"

Phantom blasted more and more furniture away while wondering how the ghost was so powerful. It was almost as if . . .

Almost as if there was a ghost generating rage! Phantom flew up close and landed a mighty punch to Poindexter's face. He then turned and saw Spectra, sitting at a table with a malicious grin on her face.

Phantom was not amused. He swooped down, much to Spectra's surprise, and grabbed her by the neck. Bringing her up to Poindexter's level, she stopped struggling when she realized what was happening.

"So now what, Danny?" She said. "Are you going to break my heart, or break my body?"

Phantom began to feed ectoplasm into his hand, using the same trick Plasmius had used on him. Her disguise began to melt away and glowing blue blood began to cover his glove. Her eyes widened and she struggled to free herself.

"Show them, Penelope," he spat. "Show them all what you really look like, and maybe I'll spare your pitiful life!"

"You BULLY!" Poindexter shouted. "I'll-"

"You'll do nothing!" Phantom cried.

Phantom swung his free hand up and hit the ghost in the face with a blast of energy. The half ghost turned his attention back to Spectra, who was beginning to grow several shades darker.

"What are you, self conscious or something?" He pulled her up close so that their noses were almost touching. "You won't last much longer, so CHANGE!"

Spectra's dreading eyes flashed a brilliant sky blue and her body flashed, melting her human disguise away; a black, shadowy figure replacing the attractive young lady.

"So," Spectra struggled against Phantom's iron grasp. "Happy now?"

"He won't be for long!" shouted Poindexter. The avenging ghost appeared with an army of chairs and tables behind him. "Let her go," he demanded slowly.

"Alright, here," Phantom replied. "CATCH!"

The ghost boy thrust Spectra forward, releasing the pent-up energy in his hand. The blast connected with her head and sent her sprawling to the ground.

"No!" Poindexter exclaimed. "You . . . you're a monster!"

"Correction, you're the monsters. I'm the hero, trying to stop you from fulfilling your twisted desires."

Poindexter raised his arms and the tables and chairs shot at Phantom, who went intangible. The objects passed through him harmlessly. The students in the gym had decided that it was a very good motive to flee in terror.

Poindexter howled in fury. "I have no time for this! I must find that girl and recharge!"

Phantom flew in front of the ghost to block his path. "You're not going to lay one dead finger on her."

"You won't stop me!" Poindexter hollered. "I will find her and become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"

"You can try," Phantom said. "But I wouldn't recommend it."

Poindexter screamed and flew at him. Phantom crossed his arms and propelled them to his sides. A glowing green wall appeared in front of him. Poindexter smacked into the wall and hurtled to the floor.

"Awesome! How'd I do that?"

"It doesn't matter!" Poindexter growled. "Once I am powerful enough-"

Phantom flew forward and punched the ghost in the face. "Stop it! Stop saying that! You're not going to do anything to Sam, and you're not going to get any more powerful!"

"Maybe he won't," said a menacing voice from behind him. "But I will!"

Phantom turned to see a very angry Spectra holding Sam up in the air by her wrist. Poindexter floated up beside her, smiling.

"You lose, ghost boy!"

Phantom's eyes flared brightly. "NO!" he cried.

Sam gasped as Spectra began to siphon any her life force. Poindexter felt the hatred and fury build up inside her and began to absorb that as well.

"When we're done with your little girlfriend," Spectra spat. "There won't be enough to fill a teaspoon!"

Phantom pointed his arm at the ghostly duo and began to charge his arm, but instead of the usual glow of ectoplasm, his entire arm began to crackle with silver-green electricity. After several moments, the charge built up and shot down from his shoulder. It raced over the limb and halted at his hand. Then, suddenly, the electricity surged forth from his fingertips and sped through the air, absorbing the large amounts of excess ectoplasm in the room to strengthen it further.

The ecto-lightning smacked into Spectra and Poindexter, causing them to spasm violently. The lightning swiftly washed over Sam, giving her the same treatment.

Phantom, in his moment of blind aggression, brought his other hand up and fired the same substance from the fingers of his other hand. His eyes were burning with an intense green light and veins on his face began to bulge . . . and blacken. Despite the physical alterations, his electrical barrage continued. The two ghosts began to destabilize and globules of their bodies drifted from their central forms and floated aimlessly around the gym. The surge of lightning stopped and Phantom shook his head, his face returning to normal.

"What in the- SAM!"

Phantom watched in horror as Spectra's grip on the girl's wrist weakened enough for her to slip away. The ghost boy sped as fast as he could, catching her before she could redecorate the floor. There was enough red in the room already. The ghost boy noted with concern that Sam was unconscious and smoking and set her down on the floor. He then sped over to her purse and sent his silent thanks to his unconscious friend for suggesting that she and Tucker each carry a Fenton Thermos with them.

Phantom uncapped the device and aimed it at the two floating specters, watching with satisfaction as they were inhaled into the cylinder. He set the device back in Sam's purse and looked at the girl with a heavy heart.

"Well," he said at last. "Better get you home."

Phantom scooped the young Manson girl up in his arms and carried her off, unaware that a familiar blue aura had spread from his arms and chest and into the body of his best friend.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Super actiony intense ending, right? WRONG! There's still one more chapter, although its mostly made up of all that recovery junk. Still, I think you'll be pleased. I hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter. And remember, 700th reviewer gets to make their own ghost._

_Special thnks goes out to_ dannyphantomfangirl13, TDG3RD, MissMeliss4251, Night'sBullet, HiddenAuthor, darkbunny92, Musicallity, Phantom5656 _and _Andrew Laplante.

**BAH-WEEP-GRAH-NAH-WEEP-NINNI-BONG!**


	38. A Learning Experience 9

Chapter XLV

"Hi Danny!" Danny Fenton looked up at the source of the voice. Samantha Manson was walking over to the boy's table, where he had been waiting for her. "You wanted to tell me something?" She asked curiously.

Danny stared into Sam's amethyst eyes. Sam," he started unsurely as she sat down in front of him. "Are you _completely positive_ you're alright?"

The girl's shoulders slumped and she rolled her eyes. "Danny, how many times have you asked me that question since the dance?"

"At last count, Tucker said I was into the thousands."

"It's only been two days!"

"Sam," he said softly. "I hurt you. I know I did, and there's nothing that's going to change that-"

"Exactly!" the girl said in exasperation. "You did what you had to do to get rid of Spectra and Indexer."

"Poindexter?"

"Whatever! You obliterated them, and I happened to be in the line of fire, so you need to stop worrying, okay?"

"No, Sam, it's not okay." Danny set down his Nasty Burger. "I could've killed you and you know it!"

"My, my, someone's full of themselves!"

Danny glowered at his friend. "How many times have I shot lightning out of my hands? How many times have I been able to sustain any sort of attack for over a minute? How many times have ghosts _melted_ when I hit them?"

Sam knew where he was going. She had heard it plenty of times before. "Once, Danny, once. You lost control and you kicked butt. Yeah, I know, you kicked my butt too, but it happens."

"It shouldn't happen! I don't want to kick your butt, Sam, I want to-" Danny paused. He wasn't exactly sure what words would have come from his mouth next, but if he was ranting, they were bound to be rude and offensive. "I want you to be around so I can save your butt."

"Look, as much as I like you talking about my rear end, I want this to end. You attacked, I got a little burnt and you meant nothing by it." Sam reached across the table and rested her hand on his. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

Danny smiled. "I guess so. But friends aren't supposed to electrocute friends with lightning they shot from their hands."

Sam growled and squeezed Danny's wrist. The joint popped and Danny quickly fazed his hand out of her iron grip. He felt his regenerative factor slowly heal the afflicted area. "Alright, I'll drop it . . . for now. But so help you if you so much as sniffle in my direction."

Sam giggled and stood from the table. "Come on, Darth Sideous. Today's one of the nicest days we're gonna have in February and I want to fly."

Danny winced at the nickname, but stood from the table regardless. "Once around the park, then it's straight home with you. My healing abilities might have been able to restore your good health, but flying around isn't going to keep you that way. Besides, it's a bit . . . nippy outside."

Sam looked at him with falsified astonishment and smacked his arm. The two walked outside and around to the back of the restaurant and Danny, after making sure there were no possible witnesses transformed into his ghostly other. After the metamorphosis, courtesy of the glowing silver green rings, was complete Phantom looked at Sam with an angry scowl.

"And now that I have you all alone behind this eating establishment, I'm. Going. To. Singe your pants!"

Sam gasped. "Oh no!" she cried sarcastically. "Please, _anything _but that!"

Phantom wailed evilly as he fired weak ecto-blasts from his pinky fingers, sending puffs of green smoke into the air. Sam laughed and ran in an attempt to dodge the "attack". After several minutes of antics, Phantom swooped down from his vantage point and snatched Sam into the air, holding her bridal style.

"Hold on tight," he said.

Sam squeezed the ghost boy's neck tightly as he flew upwards of seventy miles per hour. The girl squeezed her eyes and screamed with delight as Phantom performed all sorts of aerial acrobatics while holding Sam tightly in his arms. After he had completed his trip around the park, the ghost child made haste for the house of the girl dwelled in.

Phantom entered Sam's room through the wall and set her down on her bed.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "It's only one thirty!"

"It's a weekend, which means all sorts of scum and lowlife are about, carrying their diseases with them!" Phantom said heroically. "And you, my fair lady, shall not succumb to such ailments! I shall protect you, even if it means sacrificing my own well being!"

The ghost grabbed at his chest. "Oh no! I have been infected!" He collapsed onto Sam's bed. "R-remember me . . . as I was . . ."

Sam rolled her eyes and got up off her large mattress. She walked around the side and stood, hovering over Phantom's head. "Alright Mister Eighteenth Century, time for you to leave."

"And if I refuse?"

Sam grinned down at Phantom and slowly moved her hands up to the sides of her shirt. With a subtle moan, she began to bull the black fabric up and away from her body.

"Alright, I'm gone!" Phantom practically shouted. He leaned forward and used the momentum to propel him into flight. He passed through the wall, thankful he was able to do so the first time. The blush only began to leave his face when he reached his home.

While the ghost boy fled, Sam could barely stand from the laughter. The look on his face was priceless. Her only regret was that there was no camera present . . . or perhaps that was only her _second _regret.

* * *

"Can you believe it, Jackson? The kid's half ghost, but he hardly has a care in the world." Agent 089 looked through a pair of binoculars at the ghost boy as he left the house of Samantha Manson. 

"It took a while for the whole organization to get over the _half ghost_ part, Mike," replied Agent 02

The tall, muscular Caucasian man looked from his view-enhancing apparatus to his comrade. "And that's exactly is why they're not out in the field." Agent 089 tried to regain his visual on the ghost, but it had disappeared.

"So," Agent 02 said nonchalantly as he fiddled with his watch. "When to we capture him and take him in for interrogation and really painful experiments?"

"Didn't you _read_ our protocol handbook?" Agent 02 asked condescendingly. "Article Thirteen, Section A, Paragraph A states that any vigilante activity regarding to ghosts is not to be acted on until said vigilante commits an unlawful act."

"So basically we gotta wait for him to screw up?"

"Exactly," Agent 02 said with a grin. "But I don't think he will. The kid seems to be taking this hero gig seriously."

"And according to Article Thirteen, Section A, Paragraph B, if the kid continues to play the good guy, we're tasked with employing him into our organization when he reaches adulthood."

"That would be the seventh time in the history of the GIW. You really think this kid has what it takes?"

"Well Spooks one through five all bailed out on us. We have no reason to believe Spook 006 is gonna quit either."

Agent 02 sighed and rubbed his temples. There had only been six ghosts in recorded history that agreed to hunt their own kind as a means of employment on the physical plane. The first three had defected before Mike was even born. The fourth had engaged a mysterious female ghost some ten years earlier and was never heard from again and the fifth was lost in an identical situation. Spook 006, however, had proved to be more reliable than the other five combined. And was still doing an exemplary job.

"I really hope he doesn't. If he goes, then we lose the only known ghost to have encountered Phantom and not instigated a confrontation."

Agent 089 nodded and pressed a button on the side of his watch. The faceplate flipped up and a small circular object rose from the center, connected to a small arm. The circle stopped perpendicular to the man's wrist and the center began to glow a dull green color. He tapped another button and the circle shuddered before moving about erratically from its locked position. _No ghosts detected_, it beeped out. The small ecto-laser retracted into the watch and it closed, looking as if it never changed at all.

"I hope something goes down," the African American man said in a bored tone. "What's the good of having all this stuff if we never get to use it?"

"Don't worry," Agent 02 replied. "Something will definitely happen. We just need to be patient."

Agent 089 grumbled and picked up a can of Coke from the floor. He took a sip and smiled as an idea came to mind.

"Mike," he said eagerly. "I think I just got an idea . . ."

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Well then, there's that! I told you it was going to be anti-climactic, and short, but I hope some of you enjoyed it. Anyway, I'm having some difficulty coming up with a decent and respectable plot for the crossover. I have a central theme in mind, but I need to figure something out. Does this mean that there's going to be a super long delay like last time? NEGATIVE! I decided that I couldn't just leave you all hanging with this cliff hanger, so the next chapter features Agent 02 and Agent 089 and their little plan along with a certain ghost and an appearance by ex-Spook 005. If any of you can guess correctly, then . . . I don't know, you'll get special recognition or something. And don't forget about the contest!_

_Heh, I guess that means Phantom will be 007. Coincidence? You figure it out._

_Special thanks goes to_ Andrew Laplante, MissMeliss4251, HiddenAuthor, leadfoot352, Last Samurai Ryu-san, Night'sBullet, Phantom5656, Skye-chan, dannyphantomfangirl13, Musicallity, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, RhiannonGrey, TDG3RD, darkbunny92 _and_ LazarOfTheWind.


	39. Trust, Lies and Secrets 1

Trust, Lies and Secrets

Chapter XLVI

Phantom ducked as a scaly tail of a massive ghost snake whizzed barely a millimeter above his head. Several strands of glowing white hair were severed and blown away into the wind. The ghost boy flew up close and delivered several powerful blows to the serpent's cranium, dazing it.

The deathly white cobra shook its head to dispel the pain and flared its hood, revealing two oval spots that flashed a brilliant red. Phantom shielded his eyes from the attack, giving the snake an opportunity to charge. Phantom's sight returned just as the ghost spat venom into his eyes. The ectoplasmic toxin sizzled through the soft tissue and dissolved most of the organs, leaving the child to cry out and rage in pain.

The snake slithered in for the kill, but just as it was about to strike, it found itself face to face with the child it had just incapacitated. Two glowing green eyes stared into the serpent's own eyes.

"Nice try," Phantom said angrily. "But as you can _see_, you'll have to do better than that!"

Phantom let loose a powerful blast of energy from his hands, repelling the ghost snake into a building. He followed through with several more blasts and a few punches for good measure before unclipping his Fenton Thermos from his belt. He uncapped the device and pointed it at the snake, allowing a bright silver light to blast out of the open end and slam into the offending specter. The beam demolecularized the ghost and vacuumed in its loose form, sealing it inside the ghost proof cylinder. Phantom capped the device and clipped it to his belt before heading off.

Sam and Tucker had stubbornly set out to take down the other two ghosts that had appeared along with the cobra. Sam had taken off after a ghost squid, apparently a different one than Squidward, and Tucker had set his sights on a ghost wolf that had decided to use its otherworldly powers to snoop through people's garbage.

Phantom found Tucker and his target first by following the sounds of clattering garbage cans. The ghost wolf acted more like a domesticated puppy, but looked as fierce as could be with deep blue markings over both ears, paws, tail and a stripe along its spine. It looked up as the ghost boy arrived and began to pant happily and wag its tail. Tucker rounded a building and saw the massive twenty-foot tall canine looking at Phantom as if he was about to give out Scooby-Snacks. Tucker wiped sweat from his brow and captured the ghost wolf inside his own personalized Fenton Thermos.

Phantom floated down beside his friend with a smile. "Well, good job Tuck! That's the first ghost you caught that was bigger than you!"

"Hey, you usually blow up the smaller ones, so I don't want to hear it." Tucker wiped some dirt off of his camo-patterned cargo pants and pulled at the collar of his gray shirt. "Give me your thermos so I can get it back to the Fenton's. You go find Sam and make sure she's doing ok."

The trio had decided to call The Fentons by their name instead of referring to them as Phantom's parents. One never knew who was listening in.

"Yeah, here," Phantom unclipped his thermos from his belt and handed it to the boy standing in front of him. "Now hurry up and get to their house. If you make it, then you can record that episode of Family Guy that's on tonight."

"Dude, it's only ten thirty. I can make it back to Fenton's house in ten minutes."

"Alright, but hurry up! He doesn't want to miss it!"

Tucker rolled his eyes and began to jog towards the Fenton residence, clearly visible even from his distance.

Phantom took to the skies, scanning the city below for any sign of Sam or the ghost squid she had been hunting.

"Someone get this thing off me!"

And there she was. Phantom flew even higher into the air and looked down at the ghostly offender. It was quite a ways off, but just visible enough to see the angry glowing white and the piercing neon orange markings at the tips of its tentacles. Phantom closed his eyes and let his body fill with the substance of his powers. Ectoplasmic energy coursed through his being and made his body flare like a firework on the Independence Day. He flew up one last time into a backwards arc and shot down at the squid, letting his momentum gather ectoplasm in the air around him. The squid came into view quickly, but Phantom saw something that made him alter his course. Sam was held in front of the insufferable cephalopod almost like deterrent.

It worked.

Phantom slammed into the ground at one hundred and fifty miles per hour, several meters away from the squid and the girl. The speed of his impact along with the substantial discharge of ectoplasm left a smoldering crater in the ground. The concussive blast rattled the squid, causing it to release Sam. The girl fell a distance of ten feet, hit the ground in a roll and somersaulted to her feet. She grabbed her Fenton Thermos from her belt and captured the ghost squid inside.

She walked over to Phantom with an angry look in her eyes. Phantom saw why and began to laugh.

"Oh shut up," she growled. "Like I need any of your sentimentality."

Phantom's laughter died down. "You're right. You need a towel."

Sam fumed at the ghost and decided to tackle him. Phantom had no time to become intangible as the girl leapt at him and knocked him to the ground, pinning him under her and straddling his waist.

"Make all the jokes you want, but if I get ecto-contamination, it's your fault."

"You're not going to get contaminated because you're covered in goo."

Sam released Phantom's arms and rolled off him. He stood up and placed his fists on his hips, striking a heroic pose. Sam rose to her knees and wiped some of the transparent, glowing goo from her face. She grabbed Phantom's forearms and pouted, looking up at him.

"Look at me!" She said sadly. "I'm covered in ghost splooge!"

Sam and Danny were about to burst into laughter, but a voice interrupted them.

"Oh my GOD!" Tucker exclaimed. "I leave for not even five minutes and you guys go at it like _animals!_"

Phantom looked from himself to Sam and took a step back. The angle from which Tucker had seen them didn't do much for the best friend status. It was very incriminating.

"Shut it, Tucker," Phantom said. He placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and fazed the ghost slime off of her. She stood to her feet and gave a smile of thanks. "We're done here."

"You can say that again," Tucker mumbled.

"Let's get back to my house," the ghost child said, ignoring the remark.

His eyes glossed over and the ground beneath his feet began to crackle with green electricity. Without warning, a surge of silver green electric ectoplasm shot up from his feet and washed over his body. The black and white jumpsuit was replaced by the baggy jeans and tee shirt worn by Danny Fenton. His fluorescent white hair and glowing green eyes were traded in for black and intense blue respectively. Phantom had changed from his ghost half to his human form in the blink of an eye . . . literally.

"Whoa," Sam said admiringly. "That was amazing!"

"Yeah, well don't get used to it," Danny said while rubbing his head. "It feels like my body was hit by a power cable. Come on, let's get going before people come out to see what the damage is gonna cost them."

* * *

"Advanced Scout Ghosts One, Two and Three have been neutralized," Agent 089 said with a smirk. "There were two spikes in his core that we detected and he employed a new variation of ectoplasm to alternate between forms." 

"And what does that tell us?" Agent 02 asked impatiently. "We've sent three ASG teams out in the last week, and for what?"

"You'll see," Agent 089 said, his smirk growing into a smile." Just because you're my partner doesn't mean I have to brief you on this mission."

"That's another thing. Why did Agent X approve this mission if he knew I wasn't going to be clued in?"

"Because he knows that you're an ignorant white man," Agent 089 said while he typed his findings in a PDA. "Besides, this mission depends on your lack of knowledge regarding my plan."

Agent 02 rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. He picked up a small spherical device and squeezed the sides lightly. The orb hissed and split along its center revealing a small vile of black glowing ectoplasm. "Is your plan to get more of this stuff from him?" Mike asked.

Agent 089 looked up from his laptop he had begun to work at. His relaxed face hardened. "Affirmative. That sample was almost impossible to get, but the Genetics Branch is so excited about it they demanded that we bring them more."

Agent 02's curious expression flashed into a shocked one. "Y-you mean that this is-"

"Yes, Mike, it is. This kid may be the answer we've been searching for. The answer to this ghost problem."

* * *

Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw the dimly lit dull blue walls, ceiling and floor of the laboratory located under his house. He noticed the computer he had been playing DOOMED on was still active and that two alerts blinked on the monitor reporting that _TooFine1337_ and _GothPrincess666_ had signed out almost an hour ago. Danny realized that he must have fallen asleep while playing. 

He stretched and yawned, accidentally knocking over an empty box. It slid off the counter and hit the floor. Luckily, it made no noise on impact, but it bumped against a broom leaning on the wall. The broom slid over along the wall and quietly clattered to the floor, but it had hit the end of the sheet of metal with enough momentum to tip it over, springing a now-empty Fenton Thermos into the air. It crashed into a panel on the far side of the room and dropped to the floor with a clang.

Danny stayed still for several seconds, making sure the noises didn't wake anyone and made his way over to the wall where the Fenton Thermos had impacted. He picked it up off the floor and was about to place it on a table when he realized that a small glowing red button was flashing. Danny stared at it grumpily and smacked it, hoping that it would cease. It did, but it started a whole new commotion.

The doors to the ghost portal hissed and slid open, revealing the swirling green infinitude of the Ghost Zone beyond. Danny gasped as a shadow on the far side of the portal moved closer. Danny's ghost sense steamed from his nostrils and dissipated into the air. He watched as the shadow came closer until it pushed itself through the dimensional barrier and into the physical realm.

At first it looked like a string of binary in a gaseous state. Danny could see the ones and zeroes floating in sequence inside the ectoplasmic cloud and took a step back as the cloud began to take shape.

A white lab coat formed and two green hands made up of binary stuck out of them. A ghostly tail of electricity slithered out from the bottom. The cloud formed a head, although there were few discernable features as the face was made of code as well. White hair stood on end and crackled with white electricity. A pair of black sunglasses with rectangular lenses formed over its eyes and a faint red light glowed from behind.

"At last!" whispered a nasally voice. "I'm free! Technus, master science and electrical technology!"

To be Continued

_A/N_

_Hooray for Technus! And hooray for blatant innuendo. Don't lie, you know you liked it. So, there's that chapter, along with one of my favorite redesigns. Technus! He's still got most of his personality quips, but he's got a few more this time around. And he's smarter. Just wait, you'll see. And the GIW ghost team makes an appearance. Come on, they're mostly white, the Guys in White, anyone else make that connection? No? Well shucks._

_Special thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ Andrew Laplante, Pterodactyl, Phantom5656, darkbunny92, TDG3RD, Night'sBullet, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, HiddenAuthor, slyfoxx, Musicallity, Skye-chan _and_ Takeno no Hikari.


	40. Trust, Lies and Secrets 2

Chapter XLVII

"Child, you have freed me from that horrible dimension!" Technus exclaimed. "How can I ever repay you?"

Danny looked at the ghost confusedly. "I don't suppose I could ask you to go back?"

Technus crossed his arms. "No, you couldn't. And don't think you could force me, either, ghost boy!"

Danny took a step back. "You know me?"

"Child, in the Ghost Zone, not many exciting things happen," the ghost explained. "When ghosts started to get forced back into our dimension, nobody could stop talking about you for weeks! Of course I know you!"

"Then you know what happens now," Danny said as he transformed into his ghostly half, the two silver green rings hiding his human body within the molecular structure of his ghost body.

"Very well," Technus resigned. "If you insist."

Phantom rose up off the ground and fired an ecto-blast at his newest opponent. The blast sailed through the coded body of Technus and dissipated in a nearby ghost-proof wall.

"You cannot hope to defeat me by conventional means, ghost child! I have altered my form to prevent bodily harm to myself! Your standard attacks are no match for me!"

Phantom circled the binary banshee and thought. If he couldn't defeat him conventionally, then he would have to use some new tactics. Phantom raised his arm and fired a blast of – regular ectoplasm. Phantom looked at his smoking hand in frustration and tried again. And again. And again. After several attempts, the ghost stopped trying and growled.

"Why can't I shoot lightning?" he asked himself quietly.

"Your emotions are powerful tools," Technus said as he blasted Phantom with a wave of his own electricity. "But they are also hindrances and weaknesses. You were provoked into using a power which you had not yet learned naturally. Your anger and fear forced the power to surface-"

"What do you know about emotions?" Phantom spat. "You're all machines and technology!"

Technus grinned. "Which is why I will be able to defeat you!"

Technus swooped in for an attack, but Phantom rolled out of the way. He punched and kicked at his impervious enemy, but it was to no avail. Then a gleam of light caught his eye. The Fenton Thermos! He delivered a kick to the ghost's abdomen, which only seemed to confuse it before blasting off for the table. He grabbed the thermos and spun around, pointing it at Technus.

"Game over," Phantom said with a cocky grin plastered on his face.

A silver beam of light shot out of the device and connected with Technus . . . for a split second before it passed through him.

_What is this?_ Technus thought to himself. _The ghost child hopes to encase me inside this thermos of his? Very well. Perhaps I can convince him later that I am not here to cause harm, but for now . . ._ "Curse you, ghost child!" Technus cried, trying to sound convincing. "You have defeated me! I'll be back, though. Count on it!"

Phantom smiled as Technus' body warped and contorted as he was vacuumed into the device. The lid was shut and Phantom set it on the desk near his computer before returning to his human form and heading up for bed.

Unbeknownst to him, the ghost master of technology was not incapacitated inside the Fenton Thermos. He was making himself right at home.

* * *

Danny rolled out of his bed and crashed to the floor. He looked at his alarm clock on his nightstand, which read 9:30. He smiled, knowing that it was Saturday and that there was no hurry to get showered, dressed or anything for that matter. It was his day for relaxation, and he was going to spend it with his two best friends. 

Danny got up off the floor, looked down at himself and shrugged. No need to change his clothes, since he had fallen asleep in the ones he had been wearing the day before and they seemed fine. He sprayed some Axe on for good measure and trudged downstairs. He made his way into the kitchen, still half asleep.

"Morning Jazz," he yawned. "Morning Dash. How's it go-"

_That_ woke him up more than any shower ever could. Danny stared at the older boy sitting at his table next to his sister as if he was Plasmius.

"Dash?" Danny asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, well, you see I, um," Dash struggled to find a plausible excuse.

"He wa-a-a-as helping me with my chemistry homework!" Jazz offered. Dash sighed in relief and nodded in agreement.

"Well ok," Danny said, still unsure about what to make of the situation. "When did you get here?"

"About eight thirty," Dash replied quickly. Danny cast him a sideways glance. "This morning," Dash added.

"Ok," Danny said as he grabbed a carton of milk and began to chug it. "Oh," he said taking a break. "There aren't any lockers here, and I don't think my parents would like it if the found me hanging in my closet by my underwear. Just a heads up."

Danny resumed drinking his beverage and headed down to the lab leaving a confused Jazz and a slightly distraught Dash.

"What did he mean by that?" Jazz questioned. "Do you pick on him at school?"

"Its not like he's the only one," Dash said in defense. "Besides, I fell kinda bad about it. All these years of picking on him and he just turns the other cheek."

Jazz giggled. "Its about time someone got him. He's way too annoying."

Dash grinned and slid Jazz's chemistry book back in front of her. "Now," he said, "you start here with the molarity of Sodium Chlorate. It gives you the number of Liters here, and you need to solve for grams."

Danny looked on invisibly. He could barely believe what he was seeing. Dash, tutoring Jazz in chemistry? What on earth was going on? Jazz was supposed to be infallible! She was supposed to know everything about everything! And Dash was supposed to be an idiot! This . . . contradicted the very circle of life!

Danny was tempted to gain visibility and rub it in her face, but a gleam on the floor caught his eye. It was a nickel! Danny picked it up and smiled as it became invisible. _I'll worry about this later, come on Philip,_ Danny thought. He chugged down the remainder of the gallon of milk he had polished off and threw the empty container up the flight of stairs.

"Danny!" Jazz shouted. "That's rude!"

Danny ignored them and regained his visibility on the way down the stairs. He arrived at an empty lab, knowing that his parents were out on the prowl, eager to test a new weapon. Danny decided to please them. He swiped a Fenton Thermos off the wall and looked at the label he had convinced his mother to put on it. Spider-pillar was inked onto a rectangular strip of adhesive. Danny shuddered and pressed the release button. A stream of silver light shot out and placed the ghost creature on the ground. Its worm-like body squirmed around before the eight spider legs at the front of the creature near the head found footing. It was barely a foot long and hardly a threat, but Danny remembered the swarm that had attacked him several months back. He shuddered at the thought.

Danny picked the creature up by its small butterfly wings and transformed into his ghostly self. He flew out of the lab and tossed the bug into the sky, where it began to fly around angrily.

Danny took in a deep breath and shouted "FEAR ME!" before flying back into his house. He became human again and placed the empty thermos on the shelf where it had come from and switched it for the one he had captured that Technus ghost the night before. He clipped it on his pants and headed back upstairs, giving Dash a knowing smirk before heading outside.

Danny decided to walk to Sam's house. Tucker would undoubtedly be there already and it was a nice day. One of those days that deserved a walk, rather than flying. Danny strolled along, taking in the calm and placid air that Amity Park naturally gave off. If ghosts weren't a usual problem, Amity Park would be, without a doubt, the nicest place to live in the whole world. It might be one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world and that technology enhanced and accentuated the natural beauty the town had to offer. Danny smiled as he arrived at the door of Sam's house. He knocked on the wooden surface and patiently waited for someone to answer.

The door creaked open and a familiar face peeked out at him.

"Good morning, Danny," Ida Manson said cheerily. "I take it you're here to see my daughter?"

"Yup!" Danny answered in a similar tone.

"Well you come right on in, then," she said with a wide grin.

She moved her electric wheelchair back and made room for Danny to enter. The boy walked up the few steps that led up to the house from the sidewalk and entered the foyer. He took his shoes off and set them by the door.

"Honey, you don't have to take off your shoes!" Ida said. "We have maids and butlers and all sorts of cleaning people here!"

"I don't think Mr. Manson would like it very much if I went about his house traipsing dirt and mud everywhere."

"Well, if you insist," Ida winked at him. The usual greeting was out of the way and Sam's grandmother didn't want to keep Danny away from her granddaughter much longer. "Sam and Tucker are in the basement. You know where it is."

"Thanks Ida," Danny said. He gave her a quick hug and hurried off.

Danny smiled as he made his way to the open basement door. Ever since he was a little kid, Sam's grandmother was almost like his real one. She babysat the trio in their younger days and quickly became very close to Danny and Tucker. To Danny, Ida was the closest thing he ever had to a real grandmother. His grandparents traveled the globe, studying ghosts and ancient cultures. He had seen his father's parents once on a postcard. Needless to say, he didn't have a very strong relationship with them, and Ida filled that void to the extreme. She was a wonderful and caring person, and Danny saw where Sam got most of her better qualitites from.

Danny arrived in the basement and was nearly blasted into a wall as the surround sound in her movie theater activated, blaring the music from an intense fight scene of a movie in his face.

"Sam!" Danny shouted. "Can you turn that down?"

"What?" Sam cried back.

"I said can you turn that down?"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID CAN YOU TURN THAT DOWN!"

"OH! OK!"

Danny sighed in relief as the vibrations from the massive wall mounted speakers died down. The boy entered the room and smiled at his best friends. Tucker was sitting in his favorite chair, holding a massive cup full of soda. Danny jumped into the air and allowed his ghost powers to propel him onto the couch next to Sam.

"So, what movie is this?" Danny gestured to the large screen that depicted several samurai warriors battling cyborg raptors with light sabers.

"Oh something weird my uncle sent me," Sam replied. "It's pretty cool, but if you just dropped in on it, you'd have no idea what's going on."

Danny looked at the screen and shook his head. "I see what you mean." He turned his attention to Tucker, who was watching the fight sequence intently. "Hey Tuck, I brought you a present."

Danny grabbed the thermos and tossed it at Tucker. The boy didn't even take his eyes off the screen as he swiped the steel cylinder out of the air with one hand. He tore his eyes away from a lone samurai about to do battle with a massive cyborg pterodactyl and looked at the thermos. "Dude, what about it?"

"I caught a ghost last night. Said he was the master of computers or something. Thought you might want to take a look."

Tucker brought out his own thermos and connected the two with a cable. He pressed a button and frowned when nothing happened.

"Dude," he said. "It's empty."

"W-what?" Danny sputtered. "That's impossible! I caught him last night! You must be doing something wrong, let me take a look."

Danny rose to check the thermos for himself, but Sam grabbed him around the waist. "Let the techno-geek look at it. You stay here." She pulled Danny back into his seat and he gave Sam a quizzical look.

"Any particular reason why?"

Sam blushed, but put on a serious face. "You're never home, you don't feed the pets and you hardly spend any time with the kids. Now that you're actually here, I want you all to myself!"

Danny laughed as Sam pinned him to the couch beneath her. She tried to keep a straight face, but burst into laughter and collapsed on top of him. Danny hugged Sam to him and sighed.

"That's nice," he said in an effeminate voice. "That's good, clean enjoyable fun."

Sam rolled her eyes and released Danny from under her. His face was tinged pink, matching the blush on Sam's face.

"Ok, dude, there's definitely not a ghost in here," Tucker said, interrupting their fun. "My thermos is designed to examine its occupants, and transfer ghosts digitally from another thermos to mine. There definitely is not a ghost in there."

Danny furrowed his brow and glared at the Fenton Thermos in Tucker's hand. Suddenly, it began to glow bright green and a familiar cloud of ectoplasmic binary streamed from any crevice in the device. It quickly took its familiar form in front of the trio and stretched its arms.

"Eh," it said in it's nasally voice. "What's up, doc?"

"Your time!" Danny said as he took a fighting stance.

Technus rubbed his chin for several seconds before letting out a nervous chuckle. "Oh, I get it. My _time _is up, yes, that's very clever . . . any more bad jokes before you trash this room in a futile attempt to beat me?"

Danny's tense body relaxed. He looked up at the ghost with disappointment in his face. "What do you want?"

"To stay out of the Ghost Zone!" Technus cried. "I hate it in there! Everyone's really mean, too."

"I guess it comes with the territory," Danny mumbled. "So, what do you plan to do out here in the _real_ world?"

"What is this, Music Television?"

"MTV?" Sam corrected.

"Don't sass me, young whippersnapper," Technus warned. "And I plan to do what all ghosts desire. I want to take over this human world and reshape it in my image! And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Danny tensed up again, but Technus' laughing made him relax again.

"I guess you get that a lot," he laughed. "Actually, my business here requires your help. And by helping me, you help yourself."

Danny cocked his head to the side. "How so?"

Technus paused, unsure about how to phrase his query. "Ever hear of the Guys in White?"

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Well I guess the secret's out. Technus is Spook 005. Congrats to Pterodactyl for getting it right._

_Technus is still going to shout out his motives and be all obnoxious and whatnot, but you'll have to stay tuned to see what context._

_This chapter is going to feature two other characters. One who is important and the other . . . not so much. But I'm sure you'll like it. And yeah, I'm kinda definitely blending like three episodes into one in this chapter. You already know the first, but I gave a sly hint to the second one in here somewhere. I'll give special recognition to whoever guesses the other two characters. It really does nothing for you, but other people will be like_ "hey, that guy got recognized by Grumbles" _and they'll look at you and your stuff. That's what I do, anyway._

_Also, I believe this update takes my story into the elusive greater-than-or-equal-to 100,000 words section, which is much easier in regards to searching for a story. Hooray for me!_

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ LazarOfTheWind, darkbunny92, TDG3RD, Andrew Laplante, Phantom5656, Skye-chan, Musicallity, slyfoxx, dannyphantomfangirl13, MissMeliss4251, ShiroandFubuki, Sapphire Wolf Master, HiddenAuthor _and_ Egyptian Ghost Kitty.

**LUCKY THERE'S A FAMILY GUY**


	41. Trust, Lies and Secrets 3

Chapter XLVIII

Danny sat at his desk in fifth period. Study hall, his favorite class of the day, had finally come, and there was plenty to do. The boy, who had been scanning the room for most of the period, reached into his backpack and retrieved a PDA. It was very slim and the light in the room glistened off of its reflective onyx surface. To most people, it would look like a very high-tech, very _suave_ piece of equipment. A closer inspection would reveal that there were no buttons, and an entire face of the device was occupied by a high-definition screen and a small wireless transmitter/receiver planted on the top. There was also a small headphone jack on the side.

Of course, few people actually talked to or associated with Danny and an in-depth analysis was never made. Danny smiled at his good fortune. He placed a formfitting earphone into his ear and gave the screen a tap. The blank screen instantly flickered to life and displayed an endless stream of binary. Danny covered his nose as his ghost sense went off and smiled.

_Alright Technus,_ Danny thought. _You said this thing lets you hear my thoughts, so let's see if it really works. _

"Of course it works," answered the hushed tone of the ghost master of machines. "I built it after all."

Danny was momentarily taken aback. Technus had created a set of earphones that were supposed to let the machine they were plugged into respond to the wearer's thoughts. Danny was almost positive they wouldn't work.

_So, where's this kid you've been talking about? _Danny mentally inquired. _The GIW covert kid spy? That sounds like something straight out of a lame Disney movie._

"Trust me," Technus replied through the earphone. "He'll be here. I used to work for them, you know."

Danny said nothing. Technus had revealed he had been an agent of the GIW, using his powers to hunt menacing ghosts for almost twenty years. That is, until a more lucrative offer had been made. Not many details were given about that career choice, but Danny had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who was behind it.

"I'm detecting movement in the hallway; Guys in White tech, a PDA communicator. Oh, and it's an _'07_ model at that! Maybe we should swipe it, then I'd be hip and with it, as you kids-"

_How close?_ Danny interrupted.

"He's at the door. I'm also detecting an e-book on another person . . . are you familiar with _Julius Caesar_?"

_Not really, but I can tell you who is,_ Danny replied as the door swung open, revealing Mr. Lancer, in his wheelchair next to a student Danny couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at.

The boy was possibly a head taller than him, even without his ridiculously tall hair. It was white, tilted backwards and seemed to go with just about everything he was wearing. A snow-camo patterned vest was draped over a black shirt, which was tucked neatly into a pair of white pants that sported the same patterns as the vest. Black boots covered his feet, and he wore half-moon sunglasses. Two gold earrings hung from each lobe.

"Students, I'd like to introduce a new student," Mr. Lancer said.

Silence fell over the rambunctious study hall, mostly due to the sudden female fascination.

"This is Gregor, joining us from Hungary. I trust you'll all welcome him with open arms, because I have a test to administer down the hall. Have a nice day, and if I have you after lunch, then you know where to find me. It's not like I can run away on you."

Mr. Lancer left the class, most of which were laughing at the joke. The man had become even funnier than he had been after his accident, and that helped in relieving a great portion of uneasiness and tension.

Gregor looked around the room in uncertainty until his shielded gaze fell on Danny and Valerie, who had been sitting next to him working on an assignment. He smiled and walked over to them, taking a seat where a certain manipulative ghost girl had sat not a week before.

"Hello," he said with a thick accent. "I believe you already know of my name, but I am not familiar with yours."

Danny gave a grin and stuck out his hand. "I'm Danny. This beautiful woman sitting next to me is Valerie, and you're in study hall."

Valerie blushed at the compliment and gave Gregor a wave before returning to her work.

"What is study hall?" Gregor asked.

"Pretty much a part of the day when you have an entire class period to goof off," Danny explained. "You can study if you want, but it's optional."

Gregor's eyebrow rose. "Taking advantage of the system? Very clever. Of course that is part of the reason why I'm here, to learn American culture and sneak."

"I think you mean sneakiness," Danny corrected with a chuckle. "But yeah, we get by." The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of fifth period and the start of lunch. "And now its time to show you what _food_ we get by on."

Gregor stood up. "I did not know food was means of transporting in America," he said with fascination.

Danny laughed. "I guess you have a lot to learn. Come on, let's go."

The boy walked to the door and cast a glance at his PDA before stuffing it into his pocket. A message on the screen read _MESSAGE SENT TO TUCKER_. Danny nodded and began to make his way to the cafeteria with Gregor and a horde of excited schoolgirls in tow.

* * *

"That's what I'm wondering about," Tucker said as he and Sam entered the cafeteria. "How can we say Danny's kiss with Spectra was necrophilia when he's half dead himself?" 

Sam spat out her drink, drenching the techno-geek with grape soda. He scowled at her across the table they had seated themselves at, wiping the stuff off his face. "That's not what I was wondering at all!" She cried out. "You're so disgusting, it's beyond words!"

"Oh," Tucker said simply. "Well, what were you wondering?"

"I meant, if Danny's half ghost and he really liked Spectra, does that mean he's not attracted to human women anymore? And what does-"

"Sam," Tucker interjected. "Spectra had the entire student body fooled. Just because Danny's half ghost doesn't mean he doesn't like human girls anymore. He went crazy over one. It happens. If you want Danny to like you for _you_ and not just for your sex appeal, then just give it time. He'll metamorphose past his attraction to 3-D breasts and realize that you're the perfect girl for him. I'm thinking junior prom will do it, senior prom at the latest."

Sam looked down at her body and pouted. "Thanks Tuck, you're a _real_ self-esteem builder."

Tucker shook his head. "Sam, let's face the facts. You're beautiful in the grand scheme of things. You're a great person overall and you'll only get better as the years go by. Take girls like Paulina and think about where they'll be several years from now. I can tell you, they're not going to be at Danny's side when he's Mr. Big Guy Super Hero, sharing in his success."

Sam smiled. "I guess you're right," she sighed. "I can tell you right now, though; you'll never see me getting all googley-eyed over some boy."

Tucker felt his pocket vibrate and withdrew his PDA. He saw the string of binary and pressed several buttons. A message accompanied by several pictures flashed on the screen. "Would you care to make a wager?" he asked while placing the device in his pocket. "Ten bucks says you will in about five seconds."

"Alright, you're on!" She growled.

Tucker was terrible at making bets. He was proven wrong by Sam nine times out of ten, and always ended up losing money. She had grown so sure of her abilities to best him in bets that it became impossible for her to refuse. She would regret that habit this day.

Tucker jerked a thumb over to the cafeteria door just as it swung open. Danny was smiling and talking to someone behind him. As the object of Sam's affection passed through the door, her heart began to beat faster as another boy followed him.

_He looks . . . hot,_ Sam mused. Her quickened heartbeat increased as Danny pointed to the table she and Tucker were sitting at. The tall boy nodded and made his way over, much to the disappointment of the crowd of fangirls the boy had accumulated around him.

"Hello," he said with an accent that made Sam smile as he arrived at the table. "My name is Gregor, and I am visiting your country from Hungary."

"The name's Tucker," the geek said and held up a bag of Cheetos, to which Gregor declined. "No, thank you, Tucher, I have already eaten."

Sam giggled as the boy took a seat next to Tucker across from her. "And you are Miss . . . ?"

"Manson, Sam Manson. My real name's Samantha, but my friends call me Sam. You can call me Sam to! Why am I still talking? I'm such a spaz!"

Gregor stuck out his arm and made a noise that sounded like air being released form a tire. "Pfff! I find it charming."

Sam blushed and picked at her salad. "So," she said nervously. "_Did_ you eat already?"

"Yes, but not here," Gregor said looking around the expansive room. "I doubt there is anything here I'd enjoy to eat. I don't eat anything with a face on it because I am Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian."

Sam gasped. "You're Ultra-Recyclo-Vegetarian? So am I!"

Gregor cast an incredulous look. "I did not know Americans practiced such eating habits! Its good to know there are others . . . it reminds me of home."

Danny chose that moment to appear at the table with only a water bottle in hand. "Well, I see you two are getting along nicely," he stated with a hint of cynicism. "I hope you don't mind if I just take this on the run?" he asked pointing to his beverage.

"There is run? Like a marathon?" Gregor asked.

"No, it – it's just a turn of phrase," Danny replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You Americans turn phrases?"

Danny stared at Gregor with his jaw slightly agape. "Wow, you're stupid," he mumbled so only he could hear. "I mean I'm not going to be joining you, I'm just going to take my drink and leave."

"Oh, yes, of course," Gregor said. "I understand."

Danny gave an _I sure hope so_ look and walked off. Tucker looked after him with a worried expression and pulled up his PDA. He placed an earphone in his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them, a message on his PDA reported a message had been sent to Danny. The boy smiled and placed the device in his pocket. He decided to let the ghost master of other people's business deal with whatever Danny was upset with and focused on Gregor, who had begun to tell a very interesting tale.

* * *

"Did you just see that?" Paulina whispered. "Fenton just got the boot from his own table!" 

"Who cares?" Dash asked as he chowed down on his fries. "It's _Danny_."

"If you're trying to get on his sister's good side, then you might want to show a bit of respect," Star chimed in. That got her odd stares from the rest of the A-List seated around her. "What? Jazz Fenton might not enjoy someone picking on her little brother."

"She said she didn't care over the weekend-" Dash realized too late that what he had started to say, and now some very bemused stares were pounding into him from all sides. "-when I went over there so she could help me with my chemistry," he added.

"Come on, dude," Kwan said. "The gig's up. We've known for months that you're probably the smartest person at Casper High when it comes to that stuff."

"I hope you're looking into a pharmaceutical career," Paulina said while filing her nails. "Or maybe something like with _ghost _chemistry! Then you can introduce me to Phantom!"

Dash rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So does this mean I'm out of the A-List?"

"Hell no!" Kwan said, pounding his fist on the table. He wore a congratulatory smile on his face, matching those of his other friends. "You're actually smart! Why would we kick someone like you?"

Dash found his face becoming hotter, and realized he was blushing.

"Oh come on," Paulina said, now applying makeup to he already flawless skin. "Don't start getting all effeminate on us. And now that we know you weren't at Jazz Fenton's house getting help with your homework, what exactly _were_ you doing there?"

"He's gone Ghost Hunter on us!" One of his friends said humorously.

"Oh, he went _hunting_ alright," another jock chimed in. "But I don't think he found any ghosts in Jazz's _bedroom_."

"And there weren't any ghosts under in her bed either!"

Jeers and _ooooh_ sounds were thrown his way and Dash shook his head with a laugh. "You guys are sick." He considered telling them his true intentions, but how would the rest of Casper High react to the knowledge that Jazz Fenton was being tutored in chemistry by Dash Baxter? For the sake of her reputation, he decided to keep quiet. He cared too much. "It's none of your guys' business," he said angrily.

He turned his attention to Paulina and elbowed her lightly in the arm. She looked at him impatiently and he jerked his head towards the cafeteria doors. She smirked and stood to walk with him as he left the room. Once in the hall, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss – only to make contact with a defensive hand.

"That's not why I called you out here," Dash whispered. "We've got a problem."

Paulina pulled away from him and crossed her arms across her chest. "_We_ have a problem, or _you_ have a problem you want my help with?"

"Oh no, _we _have a problem. Remember that talk we had with Foley in eighth grade?"

"Yeah, when almost everyone else was on that field trip and we got stuck with him and the band geeks," she said conjuring up the memories. "That was one of the worst days of my life, what about it?"

"Remember how he said he almost guaranteed that Fenton and Manson would be together by the end of high school?"

"Yeah? Look Baxter, what are you getting at?"

"Tucker made a bet on it."

Paulina glared at him. "You dragged me out here to tell me _that_?"

"At the start of this year, he had nearly the whole class in on this with almost everyone going against him. If Fenton and Manson get together by the end of senior year, Tucker's gonna be rollin' in the dough. Big time."

That caught the Hispanic girl's attention. "How big are we talking about?"

Dash made sure nobody was around to overhear. "Twenty five hundred. Minimum."

Paulina nearly collapsed. "Two thousand fi-!"

"SHHHH! Not so loud!" Dash whispered exasperatedly while covering her mouth. "But now he has almost everyone in our grade and everyone in the three grades below us in it, not to mention over half the teachers, and he promised to split it with me. That means we'd both get twelve hundred fifty."

Paulina stared at him with wide eyes. "So how is this my problem too?"

"When Danny kissed Penelope," he continued, "everyone doubled their wagers. Tucker's in for five grand now, which means we're _both_ in for twenty five hundred."

Paulina did collapse at that. Dash held her in his arms as she looked at him with disbelief, as if there was a halo about his head and a holy light emanating from his body.

"You've seen how Manson's been ogling that German kid, and I'm willing to bet the money's gonna go up. Might not be as much, but it will still be something. Here's the thing, though. If Danny and Sam don't get together, Foley and I are out twenty five hundred each. We need to make sure that the kid leaves or Sam realizes her true feelings or something like that."

"We?"

"And if you help, I'll split my share with you."

Paulina scrunched her face up, trying to do the calculations in her head. Dash rolled his eyes. "That's twelve hundred fifty for each of us."

Paulina's eyes lit up. "Alright, I'll do it."

"Let's try to keep it between us. Splitting the money is easier with two people."

Paulina smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Go make room at the table," she said as she sauntered off. "I've got a plan."

* * *

Danny growled as he finished off the rest of his drink. Sure, Gregor was a spy for the Guys in White and some animosity was to be expected. Danny hadn't thought he would be ready to blast the phony all the way to Kenosha by now. 

The disgruntled teen threw his empty bottle into a trash can and reached into his pocket to retrieve the headphones. He shoved one in his ear and flicked the bulge in his pocket. The PDA came to life.

"So, what do you think?" Technus asked. "He seems like a nice enough youngster."

_That's because he's not trying to steal _your_ friends_, Danny thought.

"Don't be such a sore sport. Besides, if Tucker and Samantha can't see through that ridiculous outfit and the fake accent, then they're not worth keeping as friends."

_You think we should've told Tucker that Gregor is a spy?_

"I think it is better that he remains in the dark about such things. That way he won't be so nosy when Gregor invites the confused Goth girl to go play bowling or attend a disco."

Danny shook his head. _You need to work on your verbiage._

"That's going to have to wait," Technus said sternly. "I'm detecting a BLAZR phone coming this way."

_Do you know whose it is?_

"Let's see . . . music, games, pix, Ah! Contacts . . . hmm . . . How many people in this school would have _papa_ as a contact?"

Danny felt a grin tug at his face. _I can think of one. How far off?_

"Near the faculty lounge. She's approaching at an outbound trajectory of-"

_How. Far. Off._

" . . . One minute, tops."

Danny sat down on the floor and propped himself up against the lockers. This section of the hallway was dark, as the school had been experiencing electrical problems. Scarce amounts of sunlight trickled in through the windows and cast long shadows down the hallowed corridors. Danny withdrew the PDA and pretended to be doing something with it, despite the lack of buttons.

As Technus predicted, Paulina found him quite easily. She wondered why he was just sitting in a dark hallway, but there would be time to pester him about it later. She quietly moved over to him and stopped barely a foot away. Danny seemed to notice her presence and looked up in confusion.

"Paulina?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I saw you get the boot from your table," she said with as much concern as she could muster. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

Danny huffed. "_Really?_" he asked sarcastically. "You want to make sure I'm ok? You're not here to rub it in, or tell me how good Sam looks with Gregor? Or how he makes Tucker look so much cooler?"

Paulina sat down next to him. "Look, I know you and I don't get along very well, but I think its time for that to change."

"How so?"

Paulina scooted closer to him. "Mr. Foreign and Flashy isn't going to leave just because you want him to. He might be here for another few weeks, the rest of the year, or maybe until graduation. Until he leaves, your little girlfriend's gonna be all over him like he was the newest _Edgar Allen Poe_ book."

Danny had to wonder how Paulina knew anything about the man, or how he was associated with the darker side of human nature and that Sam would find such a book fascinating. He set those thoughts aside, focusing on the attractive girl next to him.

"Sam is not my girlfriend," he said. There would be few opportunities to force this fact into the minds of the A-List, and he wasn't willing to let this particular one slip by. "She is a girl who happens to be my friend. There's nothing deeper."

Paulina nodded. "Alright, but still. She's being drawn to Gregor like a moth to a flame, and Tucker can't be too far behind." Danny cast a quizzical glance. Paulina rolled her eyes. "Not that he's gay or anything. Tucker might think he's a genius, but he wouldn't let such an easy shot at popularity go by."

Danny hung his head, no longer trying to play games with the girl. She managed to drive the point home very well, but he'd be a full ghost before he let Paulina know she was getting to him.

"So you think my only two friends are going to leave me for some kid they hardly know?"

"Danny, I've been around a lot of different people. I've seen how these things work, and this won't end on a good note for you if you let it."

The boy sighed and pushed himself up off the floor, shortly followed by Paulina. "I don't think I'll have to worry about that. At least not for a while, but if push comes to shove, Gregor's gonna be in for a big surprise."

Dark, ominous storm clouds were accumulating outside. The final dregs of winter were pushing on, giving their all to create gloom before the joy of spring could penetrate the darkness. The traces of light faded and the hallway darkened even more. Danny could barely see two inches in front of him, but it was enough to see Paulina's face.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," she whispered.

Danny felt something he hadn't felt in a long time and, for some reason, Paulina seemed to be getting taller. He suddenly realized that he had lost control of his powers, and he was sinking into the floor. After a quick mental slap, he rose up from the floor and clamed himself down.

"I, uh, appreciate it," he said a bit shakily.

To save him from more awkwardness, the bell decided to be merciful and its ring resounded throughout the building. Paulina stepped back into the darkness, and Danny could feel her presence depart.

He turned and walked down the hall, deep in thought as he made his way to his next class. Throughout the whole ordeal, he had left the earphones in his ears, and his thoughts were translated into words and images that Technus was able to decipher.

_Emotions_, the ghost thought to himself. _How pathetic_.

* * *

Danny wasn't the only one left in a stupor. Paulina was also deep in thought about her conversation with the Fenton boy. She knew that her actions had been done for obvious reasons, but could not shake a certain mysterious feeling. She had made conversation with him about her concern for his well being. The most puzzling thing was when she had told him she didn't want him hurt . . . she _meant_ it. 

To Be Continued

_A/N- Well, that was quite a long wait. For that I apologize. I also apologize for the lack of my usual caliber in this chapter, but I thought it was pretty interesting._

_There's Gregor for you. I thought the camo pattern would be a symbol of his career as a spy, so he's trying to blend in, but at the same time he's with the GIW, so it's snow (white) camo. Yeah, its pretty dumb. Just wait for the end of this segment, though. I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised. _

_There's also a bit of an issue I'm having with the crossover I was thinking about. I have the general idea set up, but I just can't think of a plausible situation that Phantom could get stuck in. At this point, the inclusion of a crossover is up in the air, so . . . you know. Whatever._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ TDG3RD, slyfoxx, MissMeliss4251, Musicallity, Skye-chan, Lockblade, Andrew Laplante, Sapphire Wolf Master, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, HiddenAuthor, Phantom5656, Engelmohr2004 _and _LazarOfTheWind.

**NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS**


	42. Trust, Lies and Secrets 4

Chapter XLIX

Danny and Tucker stared at Tucker's television. The two boys were sitting in Mr. Foley's office with Tucker's X-Box 360. Since Tucker's father was the mayor of Amity Park, the office was quite spacious. The two boys had been given large, spinning computer-desk chairs and the gaming console was hooked up to the office's sixty inch high-definition LCD television.

Danny and Tucker were looking at the television as if it had just exploded. For what it displayed on the screen, it might as well have. The most recent round of DOOMED had ended with drastic results. To put it in terms the two would most likely use, Danny and Tucker got raped. It had been almost two years since the two boys had ever been defeated so badly in any game. Their success was due in part to the arrival of Sam, who was missing from the usual Thursday evening gathering at Mayor Foley's office for pizza and mindless violence.

"Dude . . . that was awful." Tucker said in a shocked tone.

"I know," Danny replied in a daze. "I had no idea anyone could lose so badly."

Tucker set his controller down and rubbed his face. "Man, nothing's been the same since Sam started hanging out with Gregor!"

"Tuck, that started yesterday," Danny said dryly.

"Still! She skips out on Old Horror Movie Wednesday at your house and now she ditches us on Mayor Madness Thursday. I'm going to assume that there's no Bowling Bonanza Friday tomorrow at her place," he finished with a frown.

"Let's not jump to any conclusions. Gregor's new here, and Sam's probably showing him around town."

"Come on, dude, that's lame. That's about as lame as saying that you weren't ready to pounce on Spectra when she wore that miniskirt-"

Danny fired a tiny ecto-blast from his pointer finger, knocking Tucker's beret off his head. "Not cool, dude."

"So then you agree that Sam's not just giving Gregor a tour of our beautiful city this fine evening?"

"Alright," Danny said with a subtle edge of irritation. "Let's hypothetically assume that Sam is not showing our foreign friend around town. What, then, are they doing?"

"Given that they had all of yesterday to get acquainted; it wouldn't surprise me if they're going steady by now."

Danny's brow furrowed. "Well I guess that means you're up to bat," he said with a grin.

"Me? What on earth can _I_ do?"

"Yes, what on earth can _he_ do?" added a nasally voice.

Tucker and Danny looked at Mr. Foley's computer as a stream of binary streamed out from the monitor. The ectoplasmic cloud of computer code quickly took the recognizable form of the ghost master of technology. The white lab coat and the crazy hair on top of the streaming code rather than a conventional body allowed anyone familiar with the ghost to spot him from a mile away.

"Tucker can be my own personal mole," Danny explained smugly. "You can go hang out with them while you," he pointed to Technus, "can act as a messenger, gathering info from Tucker and giving it to me and so on."

"I am the master of technology! Curator of circuitry! Destroyer of worlds!" Technus proclaimed. "I am not some pigeon to be used by a young halfa whippersnapper!"

"You need my help with whatever problem you have with the GIW. I promised to help, granted that there would be no harm done in the process. In the mean time, you can at least make it worth my while."

Technus sighed and reduced himself to his cloud form. He circled around the room before entering Tucker's PDA. The screen began displaying line upon line of code and Tucker sighed.

"This is really inconvenient, you know," he complained.

"You'll thank me when government agents don't come in and take you all away for painful interrogation and experiments."

Tucker looked around the room. "That's not happening now."

"You're welcome, now get going. I need to know what he's up to, but the last thing I need is to get caught spying on them."

"Dude, ghost powers?" Tucker offered.

"Dude, morals?" Danny countered.

"Touché," Tucker mumbled as he left the office.

Danny looked around. He turned off the gaming console and stacked the boxes of pizza on top of each other. There would be someone in later to clean up, but that didn't mean Danny had to make their job harder. When the room was in a state of organized clutter, he left the expansive building and began the cold, dark and lonely trek home.

* * *

"You mean to say to me you have never skipped rock?" Gregor asked while sipping his diet soda through a straw. 

"Look, you're a nice guy Gregor, but if you're doing drugs and stuff, I don't think-"

Gregor tossed his head back and laughed. It sounded very forced, and reminded Sam about how much better Danny's laugh was. "What? What's so funny?"

"You think I do drugs? Nein! I mean simply to throw a flat stone across water."

Sam smiled in embarrassment. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry, it's just the way you said it made it sound like-"

"I understand. Come, let us go to the park then?"

Sam stood and left the Nasty Burger with Gregor, arm in arm, in the direction of Amity Park's park, unaware of the shadowy figure that tracked their movements . . . and followed them.

* * *

Danny arrived at his home and decided to just walk through the door. Whoever invented them was a loser anyway. Danny entered his home and walked upstairs, completely oblivious to his two parents who were fortunately asleep on the large couch and did not witness his careless use of his powers. He absently trudged up to his room where he flung himself onto his bed. The next day was Friday, and he didn't want to bee in too bad of a mood. 

He almost drifted off to sleep when his cell phone rang. Danny sighed and snatched it up off his nightstand. He didn't bother to see who was calling and flipped the device open instead.

"'Uhllo?" he mumbled.

"Danny Fenton," said an unfamiliar voice. "My name is Michael, and I'm with the Guys in White. Perhaps you've heard of us? You're parents are pretty big in our field of expertise."

Danny was fully awake now. "What do you want?" he demanded perhaps a bit too angrily.

"A chance to talk with you. We've been watching your exploits for some time now, and our organization is very interested with your work."

Danny was lucky enough to be prepared for this, otherwise he might have fainted.

"So you know?"

"About your other half, your secret identity, whatever you want to call it, yes, we do. The Guys in White are painfully aware that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom are one in the same."

"Well as long as you're _painfully aware_, for the record, it's just Phantom. I left my real name out of it for a reason."

"And a good one at that. Anyway, my partner and I would like to meet with you. I know it's late-" the agent trailed off.

"There's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight," Danny said.

"Well then you wouldn't pass up an invitation to meet with us at the mall in about ten minutes?"

"It takes at least twenty to walk, and my parents are asleep."

"Well then _improvise_."

The line went dead. Danny flipped his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket and transformed into his ghostly half. He fumed silently as he fazed out of his bedroom wall and made haste for Amity Park Mall.

* * *

"I don't get it," Mike said. The two agents had just departed from C.J. Quarters department store carrying a bag in each hand. "Why do they call it a white sale if none of the clothes are white?" 

Jackson shook his head. "It's called a white sale because-"

Both men stopped as Jackson's personal communicator beeped quietly in his ear. He pressed his finger to the activation button, holding it to initiate and continue communications. The voice from the other line was all too familiar.

"Agent zero-eight-nine?" the voice of a sixteen year old whispered. "This is Agent Omega. I have an update for you."

Jackson sighed. "Kid, look. If you're trying to make it big in this organization, you need to work on how to talk to fellow agents, especially in the field."

"Sorry, sir, but this couldn't wait. My PDA has been picking up an unusual amount of ectoplasmic activity whenever I'm around this Manson girl."

"So what does that tell you, Elliot?"

"She's obviously doing something involving ghosts, and I've recorded a pattern in which these spikes occur."

Jackson felt a shiver run up his spine. A strange washy feeling flowed over the side of his head, trying to press forward some forgotten memories. The attempted recollection failed, but Jackson knew something was wrong.

"What kind of pattern, Elliot?"

"I recorded a spike in ectoplasmic energy every twenty three seconds on the dot. The signal came from somewhere in a twenty three foot radius of my position, and lasted for twenty three seconds. I didn't think the ghost kid could pull off that kind of accuracy."

Jackson was sitting at a table with his partner. His wide-eyed expression told Mike something was wrong. _Wrong_, however, would have been an understatement.

"He doesn't." The man paused, trying to piece together a plan. "This mission is like an equation, Elliot. You were given information, but now there's a variable in the mix. Solve for T."

Jackson released the button on his communicator and slouched down in his seat, letting out a deep sigh.

"Solve for T?" Mike asked.

Jackson looked at his partner sternly. "Phantom just got knocked down a notch. We've got a new number one priority."

Mike rubbed his chin, trying to figure out what Jackson was talking about. His face snapped up. "Technus?"

"Affirmative."

* * *

Agent Omega heard the click that terminated communications. That meant he was on his own. The boy looked around the restroom stall, planning his next move. It was obvious from what Agent 089 had said that there was another ghost involved. If it had the hardcore, fearless man on the apprehensive side, then it was definitely something worth worrying about. His primary mission had been to ascertain the identity of the ghost boy. Elliot figured his superiors already knew who it was, but they weren't about to tell him that sort of information. He was given the names and locales of three teenagers usually seen in the same area where Phantom was spotted and Elliot had gone to work trying to get them all on his side. He'd only been partially successful. While the girl had jumped onto him like a life preserver the two others were still keeping their distance, especially Fenton. 

The boy sighed and leaned against the wall. He needed more information before he did anything drastic. If this strange ghost and Phantom were connected, then perhaps he could use one to lure the other out. Ideas flowed into his mind, but one stood out among the others. While it seemed shaky at first, the more he dwelled on it the more it came together. Elliot adjusted his vest and sunglasses. There were still a few days to try and solve the "equation", but that wasn't much time to get Sam to fall for him completely, and if Tucker and Danny were in the area, then that was even better.

Elliot's smile grew as he stepped out of the restroom. _Hostages_ rolled off the tongue so nicely.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Elliot, Gregor, Agent Omega, whatever. Point is, he's got something up his sleeve and it won't end well for one of your favorite characters. Question is, which one of the infamous Team Phantom will be dealt a savage emotional blow? Will it be just one person? And who's to say the victim will be a member of Team Phantom? That's right you puppets, dance . . ._

_WHARG! REVIEWS! 450 is such a nice number, and now I'd like to thank everyone responsible for this number, especially _MissMeliss4251, TDG3RD, Musicallity, HiddenAuthor, Andrew Laplante, Skye-chan, Phantom5656, lord lazy pants, Sapphire Wolf Master, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, darkbunny92 _and_ leadfoot352.

**THIS IS WHY I'M HOT**


	43. Trust, Lies and Secrets 5

Chapter L

"Are you sure?"

Jackson sighed inwardly out of relief. Agent X was almost always aggressive at any news, especially bad news. The man was well over six feet tall and built like a gorilla; angering him did not bode well for anyone. He seemed to be taking this news well, though.

"Affirmative," Jackson replied. "We believe Technus to be active in the training area for Agent Omega."

Agent X snorted. "That punk's gonna get himself killed." The hostile edge in his voice simmered down. "Continue with the exercise and allow Omega to work on his own. No assistance of any kind and no more clues, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good, 089."

The communication ended and Jackson placed the cell phone in his pocket.

"So," Mike started. "How'd he take it?"

"Better than expected," Jackson replied. "We're not to interfere with Omega's exercise and we're not to engage Technus either."

"And that leaves us with . . . ?"

"Him."

Mike turned around in his chair to see a very angry looking young man storm through the mall in the direction of the table. Despite his obvious pre-pubescence, the other late-night mall-goers gave him a wide berth. Danny finally arrived at the table and looked no less angry.

"Can we make this quick? I actually wanted to get some sleep tonight."

Jackson smiled and motioned to an available third seat. "Any clue why you're here?"

"You're gonna take me away and rip me apart with your many painful experiments?"

Mike grinned. "Not yet. We're just making a routine check-in to assure our organization that you're on our side."

Danny cocked an eyebrow. "On your side?" he repeated.

"On America's side, the world's side, the human side, whatever you want it to be," Jackson answered.

"Well I guess so," Danny offered. He had imagined this conversation going much differently . . . with more guns and pain. He was pleasantly surprised. "I mean I don't make a habit of capturing and dissecting ghosts, but I sure don't want them flying around the city."

"Good to know," Mike said, continuing. "Now, we need to get all the formalities out of the way," he cleared his throat. "Article Thirteen, Section A, Paragraph A of the GIW Handbook states that any vigilante activity committed by a ghost is not to be acted on until said ghost commits an unlawful act. This includes, but is not limited to, haunting any manmade structure regardless of its occupational state, using powers as an unfair strategic advantage against humans, vandalism and defacement of federal and or public property, indecent exposure, theft of any kind, assault, rape and or murder.

"Punishment for first offenses of vigilante ghosts will include, but will not be limited to, an explanation of the crime committed and discouragement from committing the crime again as enforcing field operatives see fit.

"If vigilante continues to carry out illegal activity, field operatives are instructed to neutralize the spectral threat by whatever means necessary. Operatives are not obligated to provide a second warning, and fatal precautions are permitted. If hostile ghost is captured alive, it may be taken to headquarters for experimentation and dissection."

Danny looked at the two men incredulously. "So that's it?"

"Not quite," Jackson spoke up. "Article Thirteen, Section A, Paragraph B states the following. If vigilante ghost (see Paragraph A) continues with exemplary behavior, The Guys in White is obligated to offer said ghost a career as a Spectral Partisan Of the Office of Kilgore (see Sub-Section 2), or a S.P.O.O.K.. Ghost must have visible signs of adulthood, significant power or proof of maturity equivalent to an eighteen year old human."

"You mean-," Danny started.

"You can come and work for us when you turn eighteen or anytime after that," Mike confirmed. "You won't have to worry about keeping your identity secret in the organization, there will be no painful experiments what-so-ever aside from the occasional blood test and, probably best of all, and you'll get paid for what you've been doing for the past four or so months. And trust us; it pays a hell of a lot better than what you could probably imagine."

Danny sat back. What he had thought was going to be a long, boring, question riddled talk followed by a life or death battle had lasted barely ten minutes, and he was already being offered a job!

"That's . . . wow," he let out a nervous chuckle. "That's awesome."

"There's one catch," Jackson said, popping his happy bubble. "At least for now."

"What?"

"A certain ghost has been causing us no end of trouble in the last few years and we know you've been hanging around him," Mike said. He leaned closer to the young man across from him. "Tell us where we can find Technus."

* * *

"Look at him," Tucker half whispered half snarled. "So _smarmy_, so _devious_, so _foreign_ . . . nobody can be like that and still be a real person." 

"Are you insinuating that Gregor does not actually exist?" Technus replied from a pair of headphones in an obvious sarcastic tone.

Tucker huffed. "No, I'm just saying that he's fake. He's a phony, a fraud. There has to be something that makes him tick." The boy rubbed his chin. "And I'm not gonna find out what it is by hiding in the shadows behind an _822_."

Tucker watched as Sam and Gregor strolled out of the convenience store with matching ICEE drinks in the novelty _822_ plastic cups. Their free arms were linked together and Gregor hummed some odd tune as the two made their way to the mall.

Despite Gregor's accented humming, that song sounded all too familiar. "Technus, can you tell me what song Gregor's humming?"

The ghost overlord of onboard computers sighed and compared the off-tune frequencies of Gregor's voice with that of every known song to ever air in Europe. Ever.

"No match found with Hungarian music," the ghost reported. "However, Gregor's vocal frequencies match up with an American song with only a fifteen percent chance of error."

"What song could that be?"

"_Remember_, by the ghost Ember McLain."

Tucker sat down on a bench at a bus stop. Could that be some sort of clue? It could be a possible finding to present Danny with when they next spoke. While deep in thought, he barely noticed a woman wrapped in a trench coat sit down next to him.

"Hello," she said in a friendly voice.

"Hi," Tucker mumbled.

He was in thought to the point of it being a meditative state, and the woman seemed to notice.

"Are you ok?" she asked with genuine concern.

Tucker looked up, too distracted to continue. Through the bleak lighting the street lights gave off, he could clearly see the woman's beautiful face that was partially covered by platinum blonde hair. The crimson streak that ran through it managed to catch his eye.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just thinking."

"Ah," the woman said shortly.

The two sat in silence for a while, Tucker back in his trance and the woman watching him. Technus remained silent.

"Do you go to school around here?" She offered.

Tucker rolled his eyes behind closed eyelids. She obviously wasn't going to let him have his peace and quiet.

"Yeah, I go to Casper."

"Really? I'm the president of that school."

Tucker straightened up in his seat. The president of Casper High? The one person who worked at that building that had more authoritative power than Principal Ishiyama was sitting right next to him!

"W-wow! Uh, I'm Tucker Foley and I am a freshman."

The woman giggled. "No need to be nervous, Mr. Foley. Say, aren't you the mayor's boy? The one who was overshadowed by a ghost back in December?"

Tucker shuddered at the memories, or rather lack thereof. "Yup, that was me."

"And you were saved by that Phantom ghost. That must've been fascinating."

"Very," Tucker said a bit uncomfortably. The woman seemed to get the hint.

"You must have very good friends to have them stand by you through that," she said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah, they're really good friends." Tucker smiled. "I never would've met them if it wasn't for Casper High," he added.

"Yeah, right," the woman said. "You wouldn't happen to know Danny Fenton, would you?"

"Yeah," Tucker said. "He's my best friend."

"Oh, splendid! I'll have to tell him we spoke then next time I see his family."

Tucker was curious why Danny never mention that he knew the president of Casper High. He'd have to heckle the answer out of him later.

"So where is Danny?"

"Probably at home. He's got this big school project coming up and his grades have been slipping, so he needs the best grade he can get on it."

"I see. I would've though you would all be out and about on a night like this. The warm air moving in and the smell of grass coming up from the melted snow would make anyone want to stay out late. Even on a school night."

"Not Danny. Of course I can't say the same about Sam."

"Miss Manson?"

"You know her too?"

"I am familiar with most benefactors to my school. The Manson family gives us more money than any of the others combined. You say she's out this fine evening? Is she joining you here?"

"No, she's on a date with her new suave, techno-Goth, wear-sunglasses-at-night foreign exchange student boyfriend from Hungary."

The woman didn't speak. Tucker felt uneasy in the new silence, but it was mostly because he could tell something was wrong.

"There are no foreign exchange students attending Casper High from Hungary."

Tucker's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Mr. Lancer introduced him to Danny's study hall. He saw it!"

"New students have to be approved by me, especially foreign exchange students. Why I wasn't informed . . ." She trailed off. "Well, I'm sure you and your friend can figure out what's going on."

"I'm sorry?"

The woman stood from the bench and began to walk away. The steam coming up from the street cast eerie shadows across her body.

"I didn't catch your name," Tucker called out. He hoped to maybe get her to stay longer, find out who she was talking about.

She stopped walking around. Tucker gasped as a pair of glowing red eyes bore into his own. A wicked smile stretched across her face and Tucker saw a pair of fangs, glistening in the scarce light.

"I didn't give it."

Her body became a smoky pink color and dissipated as a gust of oceanic wind rushed through the streets. Tucker sat for only a moment longer before bolting up from his seat in the direction of Danny's house. There were two very important things that needed to be reported. First and foremost, the evil woman that nearly killed Danny and his family was the president of the school and was in Amity Park. Secondly, and only marginally less important, was that the boy who claimed to be from Hungary and who claimed to be named Gregor was exactly what Technus had supposed earlier. Nonexistent.

The ghost within the boy's PDA couldn't help but smile as he transferred himself to Danny's customized PDA. Plasmius worked in mysterious ways.

* * *

Danny was smiling as he walked out of the mall, leaving the two government agents at their table. He was fourteen years old, and he was going to get paid to beat the crap out of ghosts when he was eighteen. He wouldn't need to worry about a secret identity or dueling lives and secrets from his colleagues and peers. Life was definitely looking up. 

And a green mist flowing from his nose followed by an uppercut to the jaw sent him looking up as well. Danny soared into the air and landed on a balcony on a walkway on the second floor of the mall. He stood into a crouched position and glared at his attacker. He then struggled to keep a straight face.

Before him floated some kind of octopus, a ghost by the sickly green color of its skin and the fact that it was floating. Its large mouth was hanging open and the lips seemed to form into teeth. Saucer-like angry eyes stared at him and long furry eyebrows arched down, giving off a scowl like none Danny had ever seen. It was ridiculous.

"What are you supposed to be?" Danny asked while laughing. "Something out of a stupid cartoon?"

The octopus squealed and charged at him. Danny leapt off the floor and kicked the squid in the head mid-jump. He grabbed its tentacles and yanked on them, sending the ghost sprawling to the ground. Danny landed on a table, breaking it in half. He jumped from the table's remains into a stack of boxes just as a series of noodly appendages struck at him. Safely covered by the cardboard cubes, Danny transformed into his ghost half and fazed through the floor as the octopus sent a spray of deadly corrosive ink at the pile of boxes. They melted and the octopus curved its mouth into a grin before an ectoplasm-powered punch connected with the back of its head. The ghost flew at a wall and splattered against it. Phantom pulled his Fenton Thermos from his belt and activated it. The silver lance of energy shot forth and connected with the ghost, contorting its form into one malleable enough to fit inside the cylinder.

The ghost boy, seeing that everyone had fled in terror during the battle, took cover behind a large trash can and reverted back to his human form. He looked around to make sure nobody had seen him transform and continued on his way out. The smile eventually returned to his face and remained there until he got to his house, where it was replaced an open mouth of shock at the tale Tucker had waiting for him.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Plasmius is the president of Casper High? Who'da thought she would buy out the very educational center where Danny went to learn, obviously using it to gain strategic advantages over him? Actually, that's very typical. Expect stuff like that more often. How will Danny and Tucker act on the information? I don't know, I didn't write that part yet._

_Reviews! They're like bubble wrap! The more you have the more fun it is! Let me thank you who have contributed, especially_ MissMeliss4251, TDG3RD, slyfoxx, Musicallity, HiddenAuthor, Sapphire Wolf Master, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Skye-chan, darkbunny92 _and _phantoms-allie.

**THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAA!!! **(best freaking moview ever, go see it now)


	44. Trust, Lies and Secrets 6

Chapter LI

Danny had to give himself a pat on the back. The night before, Tucker had met him at his house, out of breath and dripping with sweat. He told him about his discovery about Gregor; how he was never approved as a student at Casper High and how he was humming Ember's song she was most well known for. Danny already knew Gregor was a spy, but had to play along to keep Tucker in the dark. That had gone over smoothly.

The thing that had really surprised him was Tucker's chance encounter with his arch-nemesis, Plasmius. Even more surprising was the fact that she had revealed herself as the president of Casper High, which meant she would have full access to whatever information she wanted about the students, be it medical problems or academic struggles. She could easily acquire that information via her ghost powers, but not only was she able to do it legally, but she was now able to keep a very close eye on him. The mere thought made him shudder.

Now, knowing that he was under constant surveillance, Danny decided to plan his next move cautiously. He needed to get rid of a GIW spy, something he had forgotten to mention to the agents he had spoken with the night before. And he needed to do it so that nothing would happen to him. Plasmius might have been borderline insane, but she wasn't stupid. If he slipped up, Plasmius could pin the blame on him and have him expelled. Or worse. He wasn't willing to take that chance.

He also had to get Technus what he wanted so he would leave. Danny told the Guys in White that the ghost of gadgets was snooping around his parents' lab and that he would be able to take care of the situation on his own. If they found out his true intentions, then that would be his first and only freebie.

Danny slumped in his seat in his fourth period geometry class. Mr. Falluca, the super genius who not only taught various mathematics classes as well as biology but held a career as an engineer at Axion Labs on the edge of town was almost finished with the painfully easy geometry lesson of the day.

"In conclusion, class," the short, stubby man said drearily, "if you get a **C** or lower on this test, you shouldn't be in high school yet. The test is on Tuesday, so make sure you understand the material. Remember that I'm here an hour early in the mornings, so if you need help, feel free to drop in."

Danny sighed. He understood the material, but he had barely any time to study. Ghosts popped in whenever they felt like doing so, and severely limited his free time. He wasn't about to try and wake up early just to waste the man's time. The bell rang, signaling the end of the period and Danny bolted from the room not because he hated the subject, but because the time between periods was much shorter on Fridays, and his study hall was on the other side of the building one story up. He needed to run, and fast.

Danny sprinted, ducked, jumped and, if necessary, somersaulted through the throng of students crowding the hallway. Exclamations and protests reached his ears, but most were drowned out by cheers and applause. Danny's rush to get to his study hall had become a school-wide spectacle, and nobody wanted to miss or interrupt it. He reached the infamous staircase, but thankfully Danny had help getting up the two flights. Danny planted his foot on the first step and leapt right into Mikey's cupped hands. The boy thrust his arms upwards and Danny soared up and over the railing on the second story, complimenting his maneuver with a back flip, courtesy of his ghost powers. He landed, spun and soared down the hall and grinned as the doorway on his left came into view. Before the open door was a row of lockers, one of which was "mysteriously" open. Perfect. Danny jumped at the steel door, grabbing on as his momentum swung him into the class just as the bell signaling the start of fifth period rang. Danny stuck his dismount and raised his arms over his head as a panel of peers held up signs with various numbers on it. Most were tens, but one boy with a large fur cap and a unibrow held a sign that read nine point four. Danny grumbled and took his seat next to Valerie, who smiled at him.

"Nice moves there, Flash," she teased. "You ever consider going out for the track team?"

"Are you kidding?" Danny asked incredulously while running a hand through his hair. "Waste these looks and my talent on a track field?"

"And where were you planning on wasting them?"

Danny rubbed his chin. "In my room, in front of my TV playing video games."

"Well, if you need company, I'm available," Valerie said slyly. "And, you know, we could forget the TV and the games."

"She's smart, sassy, hot and totally hitting on me! I must be the luckiest guy in the world!"

Valerie laughed. "So, you sitting with us today?"

Danny looked at her quizzically. "You mean with the A-List?" Valerie nodded. "When was I invited there?" He asked.

"Yesterday," she replied. "I guess Paulina was being too ditzy to remember to offer you a seat, so Dash wanted me to ask you-"

"Whoa, wait, Dash? _Dash_ and _Paulina_ want me to sit with you guys at the A-List table?"

"We saw how Gregor kinda came in and swept Sam off her feet, and figured Tucker wasn't too far behind. Believe it or not, they don't want you to be miserable. Unless, of course, they caused it," she added with a grin.

Danny huffed. "Well, if I'm invited to sit with someone as gorgeous as you, then I simply can_not_ refuse."

Valerie blushed. "I send you invites to sit with us almost every night on GIM!"

The boy sighed and smoothed out his raven colored hair. "It's a sad situation when we have to resort to keyboards as a means of making relations."

Valerie giggled. "Do you have any of your own material, or does everything you say come from an outside source?"

Danny grinned. "Baby, you haven't seen my _original material_ yet."

Valerie squinted at him and gave him a once-over. "No, no I haven't. But I _am_ interested."

Danny leaned closer. "Today's Friday, which means you have all weekend to see my _original material_."

Valerie leaned closer to Danny. "I can't wait to see it up close."

Danny inched closer. "Think you can handle it?" he whispered.

"I know I can," Valerie said in a similar hushed tone.

Danny gently brushed his fingers across her face. "You're so beautiful when you're using innuendo."

"And you're so hot when you wear that purple book-bag."

"There's nothing wrong with purple."

"Good."

Valerie and Danny had been inching closer during their little joust, and all Valerie had to do was move in one more centimeter to initiate the kiss. Danny smiled and returned the favor. The two went on for almost a minute when a sudden realization hit him square in the face. They. Weren't. Joking.

Danny shot back, much to Valerie's dismay, but she smiled nonetheless. His eyes were wide as he dared a glance at the rest of the class. Most of them were staring on in shock, seeing as how Danny had totally just straight up made out with two of the hottest chicks in the school within three weeks. The faculty advisor was absent, as usual, so there was no punishment to be dealt. Danny rested his head in his arms and thought hard about what he had just done.

Guilt from an unknown source pummeled him, but he brushed it away. Was it really so bad? No, probably not. It would be a bit awkward to pick up conversation with the girl for the rest of the day . . . or week . . . or ever. And what about Sam? What would she think?

_Forget Sam,_ he told himself. _Well, not in a mean way, but she's got a boyfriend and I guess I'm on my second girlfriend . . . wow, what a way to think about it. I'm a bastard. Hey, what's this in my pocket? Philip! You're safe! Wait, what am I doing? Am I deviating from my original thoughts in a mental rant? How pathetic. Back on topic, then, holy crap! She totally kissed me! And I didn't even do anything! Now I know how to react . . . kinda. Spectra wasn't my first choice for my first kiss, but that's life. Well, my life anyway. Alright, enough internal jibber-jabber. I'm going to deal with this like a man. A manly man who has superpowers._

"You wanna catch a movie or something tonight?" He squeaked out as he turned to face the girl.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to go see a movie later tonight?"

Valerie smiled. "Yeah, sure! And, um, listen . . . I didn't mean to . . . you know."

"Oh, really?" Danny asked dejectedly. "Because, you know, I thought-"

"Well, I mean, if you want it to be-" Danny nodded slowly. Valerie blushed and bit her lower lip. "So, uh, are we still friends?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, a habit Valerie found to be cute from the first time he had done it. "I don't see why not," he said sheepishly. Then with a grin, "I guess we're mutual friends with mutual benefits."

Valerie smiled. "Agreed."

The two talked about their new status they had declared of themselves and trailed off onto other subjects for the rest of the period. Danny felt his unease lessen with each word until he had assured himself that there was nothing to be unsure about. She liked him and he liked her. Wasn't it _supposed_ to be that simple?

* * *

Sam and Gregor sat at their usual lunch table, laughing and talking about the previous night's events. Tucker sat off to the side, glumly eating his lunch and anticipating the arrival of his best friend. At least Danny was single. He didn't have to put up with the awkwardness of being a third wheel when Danny was around. He would feel very out of place if Sam, Gregor, Danny and another girl decided to double date. Tucker didn't know of any vehicle that utilized five wheels that served as a justifiable excuse for tagging along. He would be as useless as his Palm Pilot from 2001, and _that_ scared him.

Tucker looked into his modern-day PDA, which displayed the endless code streaming across his screen. Ever since the night before, though, there would be erratic spikes in the code for no apparent reason. Tucker considered asking Technus if something was wrong, but decided the ghost could solve its own problems. Suddenly, a timer flashed on the screen, indicating the number of seconds until Danny entered the cafeteria.

Tucker turned to the doors to wave his friend over, but the gesture was lost to him as the doors opened, revealing Danny Fenton standing next to and holding hands with Valerie Gray.

"Oh my God," Sam said in astonishment. "This is crazy! He just broke up with Sp- I mean Penelope, like, a week ago, and now he's holding hands with Valerie?"

"You seem upset, Sam," Gregor mentioned curiously. "Does this bother you?"

Sam looked at Gregor sadly. "N-no! No, of course not! Why would I be upset because Danny's hanging out with Valerie? She's nice and . . . stuff."

Gregor rubbed his chin. "Perhaps you can ask him what deal is his when he joins us for lunching."

Sam grinned. "Its lunch, and you mean to say _what is his deal_."

"That is what I said, no?"

Sam sighed and looked as Danny and Valerie went through the lunch line, picking through the various assortments of distasteful foods and the like before making their way to their table. The only problem Sam had with that was the fact that Danny and Valerie's table looked a lot like the A-List table and the people sitting there looked a lot like the football team and the cheerleading squad, not like Gregor, Tucker or Sam.

"What is this?" she said loudly. "Not only does he run off with Valerie, but he doesn't even have the common courtesy to sit at our table with us? The nerve of some people!"

Gregor looked from Sam to Danny and frowned. "This does upset you, Sam; you don't have to hide it from me."

Sam looked at the boy with a pained expression. Her first boyfriend was sitting in front of her and all she could think about was Danny Fenton, the boy who had captured her heart from the moment they met. What a predicament.

"I'm just . . . worried for him," she decided. "He's been through a lot lately, and I don't want him getting hurt, that's all. He's my best friend."

Gregor nodded, seeming to comprehend her statement. "Well, if that's the case, would you care to dinner with me at the mall tonight? It is Friday, and there is no school tomorrow, or so I hearing."

Sam slapped her face and sighed. Gregor had few faults she could identify, but the broken English was getting very annoying. She looked with disdain at Tucker, who merely shrugged. The girl slumped back in her seat and picked at her salad as Gregor began to drone on about how everything seemed to remind him of home. It was going to be a long weekend, and not in a good way.

* * *

"Awesome, Fenton!" Dash exclaimed while punching Danny in the arm. "You totally just straight up made out with Valerie? That's freaking sweet, dude!"

"That makes two babes for you. You've already got half the A-List beat, Fenton-meister!" Kwan said cheerily.

Danny looked down the table at Valerie where she sat among her A-List friends, who were giving her a similar celebration. Danny returned his attention to the two football stars in front of him.

"Thanks guys, but I've gotta ask you something. Why'd you pick me to sit here with you? I mean with the teasing and the shoving-me-in-lockers and beating me up and the wedgies and-"

"Dude, look," Dash said while holding up a hand. "I know we were kinda being jerks and stuff-"

"Kinda?"

"-but that was before you got the boot by that German kid."

"He's Hungarian."

"So what?" Dash said as he ripped a rather large chunk out of his roast beef sandwich with his teeth. "He ki'td oo ou'a r 'able! E 'ook r 'irlren an' 'ucker-" Dash swallowed his food, "And left you high and dry."

"This doesn't seem like the kind of thing you guys would do as a result of Gregor sitting at my table. No offense, but I'm surprised you're not rubbing it in while shoving me into a locker."

Dash cleared his throat and sat up straight. "I'm turning over a new leaf, Fenton. I don't wanna pound you anymore, it just kinda lost the appeal, you know?"

"Not really."

"Dash is being nice to you so he can impress your sister," Kwan said in a bored tone. Dash looked at him with wide eyes. "They've been hanging out and stuff, and Dash thinks that, by being nice to you, he'll be able to get in her jeans."

Danny blinked twice before glaring at the larger boy.

"Ok, ok, look Fenton, that statement may or may not be entirely . . . completely . . . opposite of being . . . uh, false . . . ?"

Danny's hostile glare settled down. "No big deal. Just as long as you don't hurt her in any way, shape or form I've got no problems."

"Well," Dash said with a relieved sigh. "Glad that's settled."

"But if you hurt her," Danny hissed while leaning across the table, "I'll make you live your worst nightmare. I will personally come find you and make you experience pain beyond pain; suffering beyond suffering, and when I'm through, you'll beg for the sweet merciful kiss of death."

Dash gulped nervously. "Uh, ok?"

Danny laughed. "Nah, I know you're not stupid like that. I can kinda trust you." The boy looked around. "Sooooo . . . what do you guys usually do here at the A-List table?"

"We plan A-List parties," Dash said with a grin. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a piece of paper. He handed it to Danny who opened it up hurriedly.

**YOU ARE INVITED**

_To Dash Baxter's Weekend Bash!_

_Saturday Night - Sunday Morning_

_Be There, or I'll Never Invite You Again!_

_Dash's House, Call or Ask for Directions._

"I-I'm invited?" Danny stuttered.

"Yup," Dash said with a grin at seeing Danny's face light up. "Figured it'd be the best way for your initiation."

"Initiation? For what?"

Dash reached into his book bag and threw him a black shirt. Danny looked at the solid colored article and cocked an eyebrow at Dash.

"You find some kind of kick-ass jacket to wear over that and it'll be official."

Danny smiled as he draped it over his shoulder. "You really want to impress Jazz, don't you?"

"Dude, I just _gave_ you a _shirt_. What do you think?"

Danny chuckled. "I'll put in a good word for you."

The smaller boy stood from the table and made a beeline for the men's room to change into the shirt. Dash smiled at Kwan, who wore a similar expression.

"Somehow, this feels like the right thing to do," the Asian boy said thoughtfully. "We've been asses to him for most of the time we've known him."

"Yeah, whether his sister likes me or not, I think Fenton has potential. Maybe not as a football star or anything, but I've just got this feeling, you know?"

"Mmhmm," Kwan mumbled as he wrestled a large spoonful of mashed potatoes down his throat. "If this works out, maybe we should recruit Foley, or the Manson girl."

"What are we, the football team? Oh wait, yeah, we are."

Dash watched with satisfaction as Danny returned to the cafeteria with his new black shirt neatly tucked into his pants. It fit comfortably, and showed off the boy's slim athletic figure. The fact that he had any muscle tone to speak of surprised Dash, and just about everyone else that saw him. Girls suddenly had new things to chatter mindlessly about, and Dash reconsidered his statement about Danny not playing football.

"I must say," Dash proclaimed as Danny took his seat. "That shirt makes you look like less of a fathead than the stupid white one you always wear. What's with that one, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Danny asked as he tried to rub out any wrinkles that may have tried to form themselves in the last minute.

"I mean what's with the red oval on the front? Are you trying to attract arrows or something?"

Danny laughed. "No, no, it's not that. Sam got it for me for my birthday a last summer and everyone always tells me I look good in it . . . well, the people who talk about it do."

Dash pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "How touching," he said with a fake sniffle. "So, you think Jazz will come to my party?"

"Nah, she's got some kinda College Fair tomorrow. The whole junior class is going, and she'll be too tired to do anything. Trust me; she's done these things before . . . I'm still invited, right?"

"Dude, I _gave_ you a _shirt_. What part of that don't you understand?"

Danny grinned. Sam going out with Gregor had landed him a seat in the A-List! But while deep in thought, he had to wonder if the exchange was worth the cost. Was it worth losing Sam's presence? He had a girlfriend and popularity when his friends, the girl who was supposed to stick by him for life, had done nothing to rectify the inequity. Yeah, it was totally worth it.

* * *

Paulina looked from Valerie to Danny, who had returned to his seat wearing his new black T-shirt. The Hispanic girl sighed. Valerie was telling everyone for the umpteenth time how she kissed Danny and Paulina was growing bored. She kept her gaze on Danny, mulling a number of things over in her mind. Why was she feeling so upset about the current situation? When did Danny attract the ladies to such an extent that both of his girlfriends had kissed him _first_? When had Danny gotten so trim? When had he become so comfortable with everyone? Was it always there? Had she been so preoccupied with herself that she didn't see it before?

Paulina wondered if there was now a waiting list of girls that had suddenly come to the conclusion that they had a crush on simple, clumsy, geeky Danny Fenton and desired his intimate companionship. She scoffed at the idea, but suddenly felt a self realization sink in. If there, indeed, was a waiting list, she wanted to be the first on in it.

* * *

It was much later after school when Danny arrived home. After school, he and Valerie had gone off to see the movie 300, which they both declared was one of the most epic and awesome movies ever made. Upon exiting the theatre, Danny felt a strange desire to do abdominal exercises. Perhaps it was a result of seeing so many ridiculously muscled warriors on the silver screen at the same time.

After the movie, Danny and Valerie had gone to a diner on a quiet street corner where the food was actually quite good. The power had gone out unexpectedly, and the new couple was fortunate enough to be granted a romantic dinner with the help of a few candles. The mood couldn't be more perfect.

After their evening together, Danny had walked Valerie back to her house, receiving another kiss for his efforts. She had left him on the sidewalk outside her house with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He arrived at his front door without knowing how he had gotten there and opened his door.

The unexpected sight of Tucker Foley sitting on his couch watching TV greeted him and his stupor was brushed aside.

"Hey Tucker, I didn't know you were stopping by."

Tucker looked at him with a smirk. "I told you Sam would cancel Bowling Bonanza Friday on us."

Danny smacked his head. "Darn it! I was looking forward to that!"

"Well, I've been talking to Technus, and he came up with a pretty clever idea."

"Yes," the ghost said as he expelled himself from Tucker's PDA. "With a few simple changes made through the school records computer, Gregor's grades could plummet and he would be forced to return to his homeland."

Danny scrunched his eyebrows together. Technus was the one who told him that Gregor was actually a spy from the Guys in White on some training mission, so why on earth would he suggest that deporting the boy was the solution? Unless it was merely a cover to keep Tucker from knowing the truth about the boy, which puzzled Danny as well.

"No, you're not changing his grades. That makes us criminals, and Gregor didn't do anything wrong." The boy sighed and plopped himself down beside Tucker as Technus watched on. "We don't have to do anything. If Sam is still the same person she was before she started going out with Gregor, then she'll realize that we're more important, or something . . . to that effect."

Technus crossed his arms across his chest. "Unlikely. Through my observations, you humans are much too weak to set love aside for true, loyal companionship."

"Says you," Danny said angrily. "Sam's not weak."

"She is a female and, like it or not, she is more prone to succumbing to the pull of her emotions. Males are not so easily swayed."

"You're sexist, you know that?" Tucker chimed in.

"I am simply a realist!" Technus proclaimed. "I, Technus, emissary of electricity, am not so brutish to discriminate based on gender!"

"You're also very loud," Tucker muttered while rubbing his temples. "Oh, and what's this I heard about you getting invited to Dash's party?"

Danny smiled and pulled the invitation from his pocket and handed it to Tucker. The boy's face lit up like it was Christmas.

"Dude, an invite to Dash's party and a black shirt? All you need now is a jacket and you're in!"

"Yeah," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, about the jacket. I didn't really want to ask Valerie for help, and I know Sam's off with Gregor, so I was wondering if you guys could help me find a cool looking one. You know; something a guy would wear."

Tucker grinned. "Dude, you want a techno-geek and a techno-ghost to pick out a jacket for you to wear?"

"Actually," Technus mused. "It is fascinating that you should bring this up."

The ghost reached into a pocket on his lab coat and withdrew a pen. With a click of a button, it expanded into a scepter with a sphere on the end. It crackled with ectoplasmic electricity as Technus pointed it at Danny and fired.

The blast hit him square in the chest, but instead of burning a hole in his body, the energy spread across his upper body and began to solidify. Danny watched in amazement as the ectoplasm formed into a black jacket with green lining. Glowing blue techno-patterns were sprawled across the creation and it radiated with a bright green aura before dimming out. Danny stood from the couch and looked down at himself. Adorning his body was a jacket identical in form to the ones the football players wore, but so much different in everything else.

"Dude . . ." Tucker said in amazement. "That's awesome!"

"Seriously," Danny mumbled in shock. "How'd you do this?"

"It's technology," Technus explained nonchalantly. "Instead of carrying around some device, I can upload myself into your jacket. And it's incredibly hip and stylish! It also reads up your brainwaves, and any commands it receives it carries out, such as warming and cooling and is also wrinkleproof, stainproof, waterproof, fireproof, bulletproof and resistant to ectoplasmic based attacks."

"This is probably the most awesome thing ever," Danny said as he looked over the jacket for the thousandth time.

"Of course it is! I, Technus, made your jacket, and you would do well to treat it with respect!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "This thing's gonna get plenty of respect at Dash's party tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

* * *

Elliot paced around his apartment room after having walked Sam to her house. He checked to make sure everything was in prime condition, but couldn't seem to satisfy himself. Everything was there, any resource he needed, every little thing he had requested lay on his bed, but something still bothered him.

Perhaps the nagging premonition about what he was going to Saturday night is what bothered him. Perhaps it was his restlessness. He had thought Sam would have been a bit more on the sensual side when he went through her profile, but she seemed to be hesitant to open up to him. He had deployed the whole Euro-Goth routine to please her and he had deployed the Euro-geek to try and lasso Tucker in as well, but neither method worked with the accuracy he had hoped for.

It was time to stop trying.

Tucker refused to directly hang out with them, although he had mysteriously appeared at almost every place he and Sam were going to before they even arrived. Sam was being distant, even though she was supposed to be his girlfriend.

Elliot assembled all of his weapons and set them on his shelf. He sat at his laptop and drew up his plans for Saturday. The ghost boy had been quiet, and if he wouldn't come out and play, then Elliot would have to be more aggressive. Sam and Tucker might be resilient to his falsified charm, but not his physical and mental prowess. The observatory would see the end of the ghost boy and, hopefully, his two annoying sidekicks.

Whatever the variable T was supposed to be, Elliot just hoped it didn't stand for civilians. He prayed that they stayed the hell out of his way.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_An extra long chapter for you! I hope you enjoy it, and I apologize for my gaps in updates, its just that there's a lot of work to be done as the school year begins to wind down._

_Does everyone think that Danny's taking relationships too quickly? Good, because he IS and there's a very important lesson to be learned here, but Danny's gonna have to figure it out later. Like "end of chapter" later. That's right, we're on the road to the end of this segment, and its gonna blow your minds! Well, it'll keep you satisfied for a while. I don't know._

_Danny's a member of the A-List? Yes, he is. This isn't going to change for a while, maybe a segment or two down the road he goes back to sitting with his old pals again, but there's a lesson to be learned here too, but not quite yet._

_So many lessons, I sound like the ghost writer . . ._

_Anyway, Danny has a new jacket? Why does he need one? You'll see. Just know that it is the key to success for someone, and that someone has plans of his or her own._

_So many questions, so little time! I'll leave you to speculate and asplode your heads while I get busy on wrapping this sucker up. Sorry for any spelling and/or grammatical errors, but I don't have the time or patience for beta-readers and Microsoft Word can only do so much. I hope you can overlook these little kinks and enjoy the story._

_Thanks to my reviewers, especially_ Egyptian Ghost Kitty, leadfoot352, Celestial Maiden Sukira, MissMeliss4251, slyfoxx, Andrew Laplante, lord lazy pants, Phantom5656, Musicallity, Sapphire Wolf Master, TDG3RD, Skye-chan, Night'sBullet _and_ Nysk.


	45. Trust, Lies and Secrets 7

Chapter LII

Danny woke up Saturday morning feeling strange. The fatigue from the Bowling Bonanza Friday was absent, as was the ache in his fingers on his right hand. Danny sat up and pondered this absence for almost a minute when he realized that there was no Bowling Bonanza the night before. He sighed as his brain caught up with his body and he remembered that Sam was dating that _unnerving_ foreign child from Hungary. The very real possibility of the discontinuation of their mid-to-end week extravaganza made his mood worsen.

Danny rolled out of bed, grabbed his jeans and a clean pair of boxers before heading to the restroom, noting that it was barely six in the morning. Making sure nobody was inside; he entered the small room and locked the door behind him. Danny removed his clothing and turned on the water. Ever since the accident, Danny discovered that his core body temperature had dropped. It was not a significant change that would merit a medical examination, but it was _something_. Several weeks after that discovery, Danny found out that the cold seemed to barely affect him, and that it took some extremely low temperatures to even make him shiver, consequentially making him unaffected by high temperatures as well. This gave way to Danny's daily cold showers, which failed to afflict his mood and saved hot water for the rest of his family.

After he had spent enough time cleaning himself, Danny turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He dried off quickly and put his clothes on before moving to the sink to manage his hair. Even after showers, it was unruly and tangled. Danny had tried to make it intangible once, but with all the concentration involved in doing so gave him an extreme sense of vertigo. He had since returned to the wide-toothed comb, which did its job admirably. After several swipes, Danny brushed his teeth with vigor as if he had a vendetta against overnight plaque. Once his arm was throbbing and his teeth were thoroughly cleaned, Danny dried himself off once more to get any wet spots he missed and threw the towel into the hamper near the door.

The groggy teenager returned to his room and placed his black T-shirt on, tucking it neatly into his pants. He put on his socks and shoes before adorning his techno-letterman jacket. It still looked as awesome as it had the night before with its glowing blue patterns and neon green lining and Danny wanted to show it off to everyone. He made his way downstairs and entered the kitchen to see his mother and sister eating breakfast while his father worked on the microwave.

"Danny!" his mother exclaimed. "Where on _earth_ did you get that coat?"

"Yeah," Jazz said smirk. "I didn't know there was a store that made geeks look fashionable."

"Really?" Danny replied with an identical expression. "I thought you would know, seeing as how you must shop there all the time!"

"Danny, my boy!" Jack said cheerily. "I see you went out for the football team! I'm so proud of you!"

"I didn't go out for the football team, dad," Danny corrected. "Tucker and I found this coat, and we fixed it up to make it look cool."

Maddie looked into a device sitting next to her bowl of cereal. "You didn't use any of our equipment to make that thing, did you? The Ecto-Detector is picking up a lot of ectoplasmic energy from that jacket."

Jack looked at the jacket on his son like it was a poisonous spider. "Danny, slowly, take off the jacket and run!"

"Calm dawn, Jack," Maddie said, holding up a hand. "If it was going to attack him, it would've done so by now."

"Gee, thanks," Danny mumbled. "Look, Tucker and I _might_ have used your guys' ecto-torch to make the blue things. And we _might've_ taken some industrial Fenton-Labels and used those for the lining. If we _did_, I think it worked pretty well," he said while admiring the sleeves that hung loosely over his arms.

Jack looked at Maddie, who nodded, and gave his son a thumbs up. "Alright Danny, just make sure you treat that coat with the same respect you treat the rest of your clothes."

Maddie cleared her throat and stared at her husband.

"Oh, right. I mean, treat it like you would treat someone _else's_ clothes. And clean your room some time this weekend."

Danny smiled and took a seat across from his sister and poured himself a bowl of some generic cereal with a poorly drawn tiger saying "They-y-y-y're Food!" on the front. He found the cereal to be palatable and ate it, oblivious to his sister's glare.

"You're going to Dash's party tonight, aren't you?" she said.

"What?" Danny looked up. "Oh, yeah, he invited me. He wanted you to be there too, but I told him about your college fair thing."

Jazz bit her lower lip and tugged at her shoulder length auburn hair. "I feel bad about not going," she started, "but if Dash is being nice to you, I guess it's alright that I'm not there."

"Is Dash that sweet boy that came over to tutor you in chemistry?" Maddie inquired as she worked on her Ecto-Detector.

Jazz shot her a pleading look, but Danny held up a hand. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "I overheard you guys talking the last time he was here and I really don't care. Just as long as he's being nice to you, I don't care if you two are going out or not."

Jazz spat up a mouthful of cereal back into her bowl and started coughing.

"Oh, come on Jazz!" Danny cried out as he slid his chair away from the table. "What was _that_ for?"

"I'm not dating Dash Baxter!" Jazz exclaimed, wiping her face off with a napkin. "He's just tutoring me in chemistry! Besides, he's in your grade, Danny, that's kinda weird."

"You mean you don't like him?" Danny asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Well," Jazz trailed off as a blush slowly crept into her features. "I don't know. Maybe, but definitely not right now. I mean I hardly know the kid."

Danny sighed inwardly. At least there was the possibility of a relationship, if Jazz's hesitance was any indication. Danny finished his food and headed for the door.

"I'll see you guys later," he called to his family. "I'm headed over to Tucker's for some down time before the party tonight. I'll call you if something comes up."

"Bye sweetie," Maddie called from her seat. "Be safe!"

"Danny, you have a Fenton Thermos?" his father called.

"Of course!" Danny shouted back, halfway out the door.

"Don't stay out too late!" Maddie called.

"If you meet a cute girl, make sure you bring her back here so I can blather on about gho-"

Danny shut the door, cutting off his father. The Saturday morning routine out of the way, Danny headed over to Tucker's house eagerly waiting to school his friend in any videogame he could conjure up.

Danny was taking his back routes to make his journey quicker and was in the middle of an alley darkened by the morning shadows when his jacket electrocuted him with massive amounts of electricity. Danny cried out and fell to the ground, convulsing in pain as the ghost master of technology appeared before him.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Technus said with disappointment. "But you have revealed my intentions to the Guys in White and the success of my mission now only has a sixty three point four percent of succeeding as compared to the ninety six point seven percent chance of success it had before you exposed me."

The stream of electricity ceased and Danny's smoking body began to recover from the attack. The boy felt his stamina slowly return and he stood to his feet shakily. Knowing there was no way to defeat the ghost with his powers or seal him away in the thermos, Danny was forced to do nothing.

"Why?" he asked weakly.

"We had a deal," Technus growled as he moved closer. "In return for my information about the Guys in White, you were to keep my presence here a secret."

"They already knew!" Danny shouted. "They knew you and I were working together and all they wanted to know was to what extent. I told them you were looking for something and you needed my help finding it. They nodded and just moved right along."

"It would've been better for everyone if you had just denied my presence! I, Technus, master of-"

"Master of long-winded speeches," Danny interrupted, "and master of annoying the hell out of everyone around him! If you want your precious whatever-it-is from the GIW, you can get it your damn self!" Danny violently took off his jacket and threw it to the ground. "Take your stupid jacket back, and get out of my life!"

Technus considered his next move carefully.He would admit to acting rashly when there was no need for violence and this was a prime example. There was no way to apologize to the boy, and fighting him would be boring as there would be no challenge. With a large amount of concentration, Technus vanished from sight while running off an invisible copy of his ghostly programming. The coded clone invisibly manifested itself inside Danny's jacket and entered a sleep mode, awaiting its activation.

Danny saw that Technus was gone and looked around. There were no witnesses, which was a good thing, and Danny saw that the ghost had left him the jacket. Without any money to find another one, Danny begrudgingly retrieved the coat and slipped it on. It still felt comfortable and still responded to his thoughts as it warmed up to negate the chilly morning air. Danny sighed and continued his trek to Tucker's house with the intent of telling him everything. Sure, the coat could still zap the crap out of him, but it wasn't like it would reveal his secret or anything.

* * *

Sam sat in her room in her bed and stared glumly up at her ceiling. The morning was her least favorite pert of the day, but it was also one of the most magical. During that dazed state in which the mind had yet to fully awaken; Sam was able to entertain any fantasies that her imagination could put forth with a strange yet welcome feeling of reality. Usually they were sensual and romantic and involved a certain black haired friend of hers. This particular morning her imagination was acting like a factory, but none of her half-dreams were pleasant ones. She saw Danny growing farther apart from her and Tucker, eventually slipping away altogether. 

Since her mind was only half dreaming, the pain of the loss felt all too real and Sam decided there was only one way to fix it. In order to save her friendship, she had to break the heart of the one boy that had taken a romantic interest in her. Sure Gregor was kind and sweet, but he was very perturbing and confusing more often that not. Sam realized that, despite his claims, what Europeans apparently thought was Gothic was definitely _not_. He was just too different, and the foreign gimmick was losing its charm.

Sam squeezed her eyes tightly. She hated how mean the truth sounded, but it was the only way. She was going to break off their relationship that night, but gently. Maybe a movie, a walk in the park, dinner and a farewell kiss. A wave of mixed feelings washed over Sam at that thought; her first kiss ever, but not with Danny? True, Danny had kissed _two_ other girls, neither one being Sam, but that didn't mean she had to reciprocate. Although there was that subtle creepiness in saving herself for one person as the world passed by. What if Danny never found her sexually attractive? Then what would saving herself for him have done?

Sam opened her eyes. If she felt the mood was right, she would kiss Gregor. It was that simple. If only she could bring herself to accept it.

* * *

Tucker nodded from his seat as Danny retold the morning's events to the boy. The story wasn't long and Tucker hadn't found it all that interesting, although he had been upset by the fact that the menacing techno-ghost had been hanging out with them for almost a week. 

"It seems like he overreacted and then decided to peace out," Tucker said as he talked with someone over the internet. "I mean, come on Danny, He's a ghost. What do you expect?"

"I'm half ghost, Tucker, and I never electrocuted you because I overreacted in a situation."

"_Me_? No, I guess you haven't. You have before, or have you forgotten already?"

Danny's eyes widened at the memory of nearly killing Sam when Spectra and Poindexter planned on draining her of her life energy. Instead of leeching it, Danny had almost extinguished it altogether.

"Oh man . . ." Danny rubbed his head. "Tuck, what's going on?"

"Look, you didn't hurt Sam because you were mad at her; you lost your temper because Spectra and Poindexter were trying to kill her. It was different circumstances."

"But with the same result," Danny sighed.

Tucker tore his eyes away from the screen for a moment to look at his best friend. Danny had kept a positive attitude as a superhero, but he could see the whole "great responsibility" thing was catching up with him. He would need to bury the incident in the past if he was to move on.

"Alright, so," Tucker began, trying to distract Danny from his guilt. "You've still got your coat and your shirt. You're still invited to Dash's party tonight, and Valerie is still your girlfriend. Sam and Gregor are being all together-like and Star says that Valerie is out shopping with her mom for something to wear to Dash's, so you don't have to worry about her at the moment."

Danny grinned. "Now what?"

Tucker tossed Danny an X-Box 360 controller and picked one up for himself. "We've got thirteen hours to get our ranks up to level forty five. Up for non-stop team slayer?"

Danny hunched over in his seat and glared at the TV. "Initiate brain-cell destroyer," Danny said with a slight grin. "All crew are standing by."

"Roger that," Tucker said as he turned on his television. "Preparing to activate in two," Tucker moved back from the TV. "One," Tucker pressed the center button on his controller. The X-Box 360 start up animation began to play on the screen as the system started up. "All systems are go, captain, preparing to fire."

The Halo 2 menu popped up and the boys selected their characters. "Fire on my signal," Danny said as he placed his headset on.

Tucker did the same and selected the team-slayer option. The game loaded and the pre-game lobby opened up. "Primary weapon is fully charged, awaiting the signal," Tucker said.

"Who's that?"

"Some random dude. What kind of name is _TooFine1337_?"

"_Phantom_? Dude, we're playing with the ghost kid!"

"For the last freaking time, keep that disgusting mayonnaise away from me! Oh look, the game's about to start!"

Danny ignored the random chatter and watched as the timer ticked down to zero. His smile widened. "Fire."

* * *

Sam sat at her desk in her bedroom with her head down. She had dressed for the day in her dark blue top with black flower patterns and black jeans. Her combat boots tapped on the oak paneling of the furniture as she listened to the answering machine for Danny's phone pick up for the thousandth time. Frustrated, she threw the phone down and sighed. She had tried to call the boys to see if they would come over to make up for the lack of their bowling round the night before, but they were ignoring their phones. She had gone on X-Box live in an attempt to reach them and saw that they were playing, but they had made the party a private one and had constantly ignored her repetitive requests for an invitation. 

Sam walked over to her bed and lay down. She hugged her pillow tightly and sighed into it. Was this their way of letting her know that she had let them down? Was it a sign that they no longer desired her company? This had never happened before, so it was impossible to tell. Not only was she to break up with Gregor, but her only two friends wouldn't spare her a moment. The pain of loneliness set in and Sam felt the tears come forth. She fought with all her might to keep them back.

The floodgates of Sam's heart can attest that her efforts were in vain.

* * *

Danny roared in fury as his character was blasted in the chest by a shotgun. The offender walked over his dead body and grabbed his team's flag and began to run for the open gate, but Tucker was on him with an energy sword. The blue bastard never made it outside, and _that_ is why Zanzibar was his favorite map. 

"That's it. No more mister nice Phantom," Danny growled as his character respawned. Danny grabbed the rocket launcher from a walkway he had leapt onto and jumped onto an enemy warthog jeep that was awaiting the arrival of their teammate. Danny stuck the vehicle with a plasma grenade and leapt from it before the device could explode. He sighed in relief as his character made it safely out of harm's when the vehicle detonated, killing the enemy soldiers who were too close to avoid the deadly blast.

Danny maneuvered his character to see two enemy ghosts, hovering purple vehicles, and fired a rocket at the nearest one. The explosion flipped the other alien craft over, spilling its occupant to the side. Danny wasted no time in engaging and fired a second rocket which impacted the player's chest.

"Hell yeah!" Danny shouted as the timer ran out, signaling the end of the game. "Freaking awesome! How freaking awesome was that? That was amazing! Look, look at that right there," Danny pointed to the medal stats of the post game carnage report. "Forty nine medals, dude, forty nine medals! I am so awesome! Don't start another match, I've gotta go to the bathroom."

Danny hurriedly took off his headset and ran to Tucker's restroom, leaving the other boy with a grin. Tucker might not have gotten as many kills or medals, but he had _all_ of his team's captures. Danny never was the best at team skirmish, which was why he was reluctant to switch game types at first. At least Tucker was happy with the results.

"Dude, can you believe it's been ten hours already?" Danny asked as he came out of the restroom.

"Since there was a huge-ass alarm clock sitting right next to your head the whole time we were playing, yeah, I can believe it."

Danny looked at the device and cast Tucker a sheepish grin. "Ok, I guess I get carried away sometimes."

"Hey, Sam thinks it's the hottest thing in the world when you get buck wild over some game. She has a pink set of MJOLNIR armor in the mail from e-bay."

Danny grinned. "She would, too. Man, that reminds me, I forgot to take my phone with me this morning. You think she tried to call us?"

"Mine's broke," Tucker explained. "I'm waiting for my grandpa to come up so we can fix it and install a GPS in it."

"Wonder why she didn't sign on and join up? We were playing for ten hours straight."

"There's some glitch that came with the latest update. You can't receive any messages right now, but Bungie said it should be fixed by next weekend."

Danny rubbed his chin. "I really hope she didn't try to reach us," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, we'll see her tomorrow . . . hopefully," Tucker said. "It's getting late, you better go home and get ready for Dash's party."

"I'm ready right now," Danny said. "I figured I'd be here all day and then just go over there when it was time."

"Well if you took a good look in a mirror, it looks like your face spent six hours in a tanning bed. You should go ghost so the lower body temperature will make it normal again."

Danny stared at him with a funny look.

"What?" Tucker said. "What's the matter?"

"Dude, _go ghost_?" Danny mocked. "What am I, a lame cartoon character?"

"It's a lot faster than saying 'you should turn into your ghost half' or 'you should transform into a ghost'. Besides, it's kinda catchy. You could shout it every time you transform, like a battle cry or something."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Let's see, I'll try it, but if you even look like your holding back a laugh, I'll faze you into a toilet."

Tucker grinned. "You have my word."

Danny stood back and took a battle pose. "I'm going ghost!" he said loudly.

The silver, green tinted rings formed at his waist and sped across his body, turning Danny Fenton into Phantom.

Tucker smiled. "That actually didn't sound _too_ gay."

"You know, it was a bit easier to concentrate while saying it. I don't think I'll have to shout **ecto-blast** out whenever I shoot at someone. Then again . . . you never did teach me how to shoot **EYEBEAMS**!"

Tucker rolled his own eyes. "It's a bit harder to shoot eyebeams than regular energy blasts. Besides, you never had to fight someone who couldn't be beaten by regular attacks."

"What about the executive of ego?" Phantom said snidely.

"Save for him. But for now, you have a party to get to. And maybe you should just check in on Sam on your way over. You know, let her know what happened with LIVE and our cell phones."

"Gotcha," Phantom confirmed.

The ghost fazed through Tucker's window and out into the dark night sky. He swooped and soared over buildings and through streets, laughing at his own antics and enjoying his night on the town. Phantom arrived at Sam's house and hovered outside her window. He saw her sitting on her bed with a box of tissues and was about to faze in to make sure she was ok when her door opened. Luckily, the ghost boy had been invisible so Gregor didn't see him upon entering. He sat down on the edge of Sam's bed and wrapped his arm around her. She leaned on his shoulder as the boy caressed her face tenderly.

Phantom couldn't explain the rage that bubbled up inside him, but he swore his eyes reflected on Sam's window. And they were _red_. Phantom shook his head and let them flash again, sighing in relief as the twin green orbs danced across the glass. Phantom decided it was just fatigue from his bout of gaming and came back to reality as Gregor led Sam out of the room, still holding her against his body.

Phantom flew around to her door and watched as the couple exited the mansion and started their evening together. The ghost considered following them, but decided not to. It just didn't seem right to betray Sam's trust by not trusting her himself. While he felt upset with the lack of knowledge of Sam's doings, he knew it was the right thing to do. Phantom made a quick stop in his room to grab his cell phone and made haste for Dash's house. His first big party was about to start, but this one was going to have some big time party crashers.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_I think this is one of the better chapters in this segment. Well, we're getting closer to the end ladies and germs, so get ready. Elliot's got a plan that you already have a general idea of, but really don't know what's gonna happen. There's still the major emotional blow to be dealt, but you get to find out who it is next chapter. _

_Technus is evil? Yeah, he really is. But seriously now, what did you expect? And the coat wasn't just a gift to young Danny, as you'll soon find out. Also, I know you've all been waiting for it and the next chapter will relieve you of your anticipation. TECHNUS' BATTLE SUIT! Just keep in mind that this one is not humanoid in appearance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised._

_And the little thing with Danny and Tucker playing video games? I'm sorry if the language kinda offended anyone, but don't sit there and type to me that you've never muttered a curse word in your life. Teenagers are teenagers, not three-year-olds with extended vocabularies . . . actually, come to think of it . . ._

_Anywho, thanks to my reviewers, especially_ Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Andrew Laplante, Phantom5656, leadfoot352, Musicallity, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, Skye-chan, lord lazy pants _and_ darkbunny92.

_Again, if I spell your name wrong or misuse capitalization or something, just let me know._

_And don't forget, 700th reviewer contest thingamabob._

**D'OH**


	46. Trust, Lies and Secrets 8

Chapter LIII

Agent Omega pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number Agent 089 had given him in case of an emergency. There was silence as the other line played the familiar monotonous tone that signaled the call had gone through. Elliot waited impatiently. With so much on the line, there was no time to wait. Finally, someone on the other line picked up.

"Hello?" Jackson said irritably. There was only one person who would call the number, and the older man was none too happy about it.

"Agent zero eight nine, I have an update."

"Go ahead."

"I have deduced that the recent lull in ghostly activity of the offensive nature is due in part to the fact that Phantom's cohorts are all safe and under constant supervision. Danny Fenton has been taken under the wing of the popular crowd; Samantha Manson is dating . . . _Gregor _and Tucker Foley still associates with the Fenton boy. Phantom must act out in their best interests, and that is why I have organized a plan to draw him out."

"Agent Omega, your mission did not include engaging Phantom. By rule of Protoform Protocol Article Two Section One, you are now ordered to stand down."

"Negative," Elliot said angrily. "Phantom's power levels were almost at scale seven when he was first recorded. He is too dangerous to operate independently."

"Elliot, if you even think of trying something, you'll be in for a lot more than you bargained for."

"I've already thought it through, and I'm putting my plan into action. If you decide to show up and help out, tell any civilians in the area to stay out of my way."

"Elliot, NO!"

The line went dead, and the teenaged government spy pulled out his gun. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Dash Baxter looked around his house. So many people had already arrived and were already making themselves comfortable. Couples could be seen making out in various corners of the rooms, even becoming so enticed with each other as to try and sneak off upstairs. That, of course, was not permitted and Kwan enforced the rules of Dash Baxter's house. Kwan always liked to play the role of bouncer, but since Dash was intimidating enough to keep trespassers from entering, Kwan kept order inside the house. If anything fragile or valuable was in danger of being broken, Kwan was there to save said object and punish those responsible. He also kept party-goers in the designated party area, which meant in the family room where everyone could be seen. Luckily, the layout of Dash's house put the door to the basement close to the stairs that led to the second floor. Kwan chose this spot to guard, as it was easy to defend. 

Dash couldn't help but smile at his friend, who had just sent another hormonally roused couple back to their seat after a failed attempt to escape upstairs. They made quite a good team, he and Kwan, which was part of the reason the two had become so popular in their freshman year. Dash was a Godsend to Casper High's football team; a quarterback of epic skills. Kwan was just as much of a gift with his uncanny ability as a wide receiver. Dash almost passed the ball exclusively to Kwan when a long distance play was required and the results were magnificent to behold. In most circumstances, a coach would be infuriated by the boys' inability to work as a team with everyone else, but the Casper High Ravens were in a bad way before the arrival of Dash and Kwan and there was little to complain about now that they were actually _winning_ games. The prospect of state championship seemed feasible next season, which made everyone very happy.

Kwan caught Dash's approving look and nodded, reassuring his friend that there would be no mysterious _messes_ to clean up after the party. Dash surveyed his house, making sure there was no roughhousing or anything of the sort. If there was one thing Dash couldn't stand, it was immaturity. Sure, he had picked on lesser beings like Fenton for most of his life, but that was to prove to others that he was superior in power. Now that his seat of popularity was secured, there was no longer a need to stuff the scrawnier boy into lockers.

As if summoned by his resolution to leave Danny alone, a knock on the door caught Dash's attention. He opened the door and looked around with an angry scowl before catching sight of Danny. He was almost a head shorter than Dash which was why he wasn't spotted right away. The taller boy's face softened at the sight of a familiar face.

"Fentonio! You made it! Nice jacket, bud," Dash commented on seeing the elaborate piece of clothing draped over Danny's body. "Where'd you pick that up?"

"Oh, I, uh, had a friend whip it up for me," Danny half-lied. Technus wasn't his friend, after all.

"Your friend's got some skill," Dash stated seeing as how the intricate blue patterns were pulsating with an otherworldly glow. "That might just be the sweetest thing I've ever seen."

Danny grinned. "Say, is Valerie here yet?"

Dash frowned as he let Danny inside. "Oh, sorry dude, I forgot to tell you. She told me that she was headed up to the observatory to hang out with her mom."

Danny whipped out his cell phone which loyally reported over fifty missed calls, all but one from Sam. Upon seeing this, Danny nodded solemnly. "Alrighty then."

"Well hey; don't let that get you down," Dash said noting Danny's glumness. "Just come on in, relax and take a load off."

Danny grinned as he stepped into the room. Very loud music was blaring throughout the household. People were shouting over the noise to carry on conversations about random stuff that didn't concern him in the least. Danny saw a very comfortable looking seat at the far end away from the speakers and began to weave through the crowd for the seat. He sighed as he reached the chair, seeing as how nobody else took it, and sat down just taking everything in. Despite the loud and obnoxious noise, all of it paled in comparison to Sam's basement surround-sound stereo system in her basement. Danny's face darkened at the thought of her basement being occupied by her and Gregor, but he shook his head. If Sam wanted to date Gregor, that was just fine; even if they were moving a bit fast. That made Danny smile. As if he and Valerie were taking things slowly . . .

Danny was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely noticed Paulina make her way over to the chair with a hospitable smile on her face.

"Danny!" the Hispanic girl said happily. "I didn't expect you to be here!"

Danny shook his head and looked at the girl standing in front of him. "What? Oh, yeah, Dash invited me at lunch yesterday. I thought you would've known."

"Oh I saw him invite you, I just didn't think you'd come," she said while casually glancing down at her jeans to see if something had made them less attractive.

"Why would I skip out on a party like this?" Danny said while gesturing around the room. "This is _the_ place to be on a Saturday night, after all."

Paulina looked at him with a knowing expression. She moved closer and sat on the armrest of the large chair a bit closer than Danny would've liked. "Look, I might not know much about you, but I can tell already that you're not having a good time."

Danny looked up at her. "What are you talking about? I just got here! Give me some time to loosen up and I'll be the life of this party in no time at all."

Paulina grinned. "You don't really belong here. I'm not saying that I don't want you here, but this isn't your element. You belong with your real friends, like Tucker and Sam."

Danny scowled. "Sam's on a date with the love doctor from another planet and Tucker's sitting at home doing . . . whatever he does on the internet when there's nobody else there. Come to think of it, I'm kinda glad I'm not there right now."

The girl rolled her eyes. "You have a girlfriend, don't you?"

"She's hanging out with her mom," Danny said. "And I don't have a problem with that at all."

Paulina looked over Danny in his techno-letterman jacket. She thought he was cute before, but the jacket was too big on him and made him look, well, adorable.

"Well, since I've been to enough of these to last a lifetime and you're sucking the life from this corner of the room, why don't we go get something to eat at the Nasty Burger?"

Danny looked at Paulina with his mouth agape. "Did you . . . just ask me out?"

"Not as a date," she said exasperatedly. "As friends! You're officially A-List now, which means we should get to know each other a little better."

"But you wouldn't even spare me a passing glance before?"

"Well-"

"Paulina, are you familiar with Roman history?"

"Why?"

Danny sat up straighter in his seat. "After the Roman people expelled their last king, the differentiation between the two classes became even more apparent than it had been before with patricians being the higher-ups and the plebeians being lower on the social scale. Patricians made and enforced the laws while the plebeians were forced to accept their rule with no way to ascend through the class barrier. After a few major disputes and civil wars, the plebeians were allowed to become more involved in their society, but only after the patricians realized that their existence was vital to their own after several major conflicts with opposing armies."

Paulina blinked. Danny sighed.

"Think of Casper High as Rome with the A-List as the patricians and just about everyone else as the plebeians. Before now, there really was no way for someone like me to hang out with someone like you, but here I am sitting on the same chair as you at one of Dash's super-awesome parties."

"So . . . ?"

"I'm just saying that there has to be some alternative reason you all decided to let me hang out with the A-List. Of course, I could just be looking too much into it, but still . . ."

Paulina looked at Danny incredulously. "Since when did you get so smart?"

Danny's expression hardened. "About the same time I figured out the world isn't so _friendly_."

"You shouldn't think like that," Paulina said admonishingly. "You should enjoy life and be happy!"

Danny gave her a pained smile. "I wish I could, but that job is for people who can, like you. People like me . . ." Danny's head shot forward into his awaiting hands as a sneeze worked its way through his body. Danny cast a casual look at his hands and stifled his surprise as the green ectoplasm glowed dimly before fading away. "Have to _worry_ about life."

Danny stood from the chair and made his way over to Dash. "Hey dude, I don't wanna leave so soon, but I got this killer headache so-"

"Hey, no problem Fenton," Dash said coolly. "Just watch yourself on those streets. Saturday nights can be a bit crazy."

"Will do. And thanks for inviting me."

Dash grinned. "Any time, dude. We'll be seeing ya."

Danny slipped out the door and made haste for an alley across the street.

Kwan moved closer to Dash as the boy shut the door.

"Why'd he leave so soon?" Kwan asked.

"Headache," Dash explained. "I guess he just isn't used to loud base."

"Guess not."

In Kwan's lapse of guarding, a couple had covertly snuck past him and had begun to ascend the stairs for some alone time. Ever vigilant, the boy sensed something was wrong and turned in time to catch them. "The only thing you two are gonna be screwing is light bulbs down in the basement," Kwan growled as he ushered them back down into the living room.

Dash smiled. The party was in full swing now and Fenton had even showed up. Dash would make an A-Lister out of him yet.

* * *

Danny crouched safely behind a dumpster in the alley way. He checked to make sure nobody was looking before concentrating on his ghostly energies. 

"Going ghost," he muttered so that anyone listening in wouldn't hear him. A sarcastic smile spread across his face as the silver green rings went to work. As if anyone in the area would be anywhere _but _Dash's house. Phantom looked around and turned invisible before blasting up into the sky.

The ghost boy looked around angrily, trying to find his spectral offender. A flare from a stream of ectoplasmic electricity caught his eye and Phantom turned to see the lightning bolt shoot across the sky, dropping into houses and coming back into the sky with a variety of electronics trailing behind it.

"What's he up to now," Phantom grumbled.

The ghost followed Technus as the ghost reached a _Tyrannosaurus_ store; one that sold nothing but technology. The ghost master of not being subtle dipped into the store and spent only a microsecond longer inside before emerging with every single gadget in tow.

"I must say, I'm flattered that you'd buy me so many new things to apologize with, but all you needed to do was say sorry . . . and pay for everything you just stole."

"Irksome ghost child!" Technus growled, turning the lightning bolt into a storm cloud of ectoplasmic binary. "I no longer work with you, but against you! And now I, Technus, master of all technology, shall defeat you once and for all!"

"You could've done that the first time we met or any of the other times you were inside my PDA. Why wait until now?"

"I shall not attack you directly, ghost child, for I am much smarter than that!"

"Actually, attacking me directly is a pretty sound idea, what with me not being able to do anything to defend myself and all-"

"Silence!" Technus roared as thunder echoed from his cloud form. Lightning danced across the ghost, flickering from one piece of technology to another. "I find little satisfaction in fighting an opponent who cannot fight back. Henceforth, I shall attack your very heart! For I, Technus, know the whereabouts of your two girlfriends! I shall destroy them, leaving you with the pain and suffering of your pathetic human emotions!"

Phantom growled. "If you lay a single coded finger on them-"

"You'll do what? You cannot defeat my real form, and you certainly cannot defeat my combat form!"

"Combat form?"

The cloud of ectoplasm began to swirl together and a tornado emerged from the bottom of the cloud. It touched the ground, throwing debris, cars, chunks of nearby buildings and cars into the air. The appliances floated down from the cloud and began to rearrange themselves. The pieces of equipment came apart and connected to others in different variations. Street lamps went out and were sucked into the ghostly fray as the storm grew in strength. Windows shattered, fire hydrants were uprooted and water gushed into the air. In a blinding flash of light, the storm exploded outwards and Phantom was blasted into a wall too quickly to go intangible. He slammed into the brick building and cried out as the force of the blast pressed upon him, crushing his insides. Phantom felt blood trickle from his nose and his eyes began to roll into the back of his head. Suddenly, the blast stopped and Phantom, on the verge of losing consciousness, regained his sense and flew from the wall.

"Alright, I have no idea what you just did, but don't expect to get . . . away . . . with . . . it."

Phantom looked at the crater on the ground and saw a massive spider shaped creature looking back at him.

"Technus Combat Mode 4.7; online," Technus said mockingly. "preparing to engage targets."

Phantom braced himself for an attack, but watched in horror as Technus leapt from the ground onto a rather tall building. The techno-spider nimbly made its way over rooftops headed for the far side of town where the observatory sat among the Amity Hills. It would take at least ten minutes to get there, even at the speed Technus was moving. The ghost boy cried out in anger. How could he possibly hope to save Valerie and Sam? Gregor might be a spy and he might be carrying weapons, but how could a normal teenager hope to stand against Technus' power?

There really was only one solution; the Guys in White themselves, but they couldn't just be called up, they came to you.

And that is why Phantom knew Jackson and Mike were rapidly approaching his position by the sound their ghost gliders made as they soared through the air.

"You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you," Phantom said with relief. "Look, we need to get to-"

"The observatory," Mike cut him off. "We know. Elliot took a dive off the deep end and is trying to draw you out. The Satellite Corps informed us he has taken everyone at the observatory hostage and is prepared to use lethal force."

Phantom's rage was overpowered by curiosity for a moment. "You got all that from a satellite?"

"We're with a top secret organization, kid," Jackson stated. "It's our job to be able to do stuff like that."

Phantom nodded and turned in the direction of the observatory. "Gregor's not our only problem" he said as he took off with the government agents in tow. "Technus flipped out and made himself a spider combat suit. Looks pretty tough."

"We've dealt with his combat suits before. They're nearly impervious to physical attacks and ballistic weaponry and capable of absorbing ectoplasmic based attacks."

"But?" Phantom said hopefully.

"But there's always some flaw. A weak point that just happens to house the control center, or a glitch in his programming that results in lapse of activity is commonplace for him. Although the spider form is new . . ."

Phantom huffed as he flew around, over and sometimes through buildings. The Guys in White simply pressed onward. The observatory came into view, as did the monstrous form of Technus, who was slowly ascending the rather large rocky hill. Elliot had taken notice of the approaching spider-bot and was frantically shooting at it while trying to keep his hostages from fleeing.

"Phantom, secure the hostages and dispatch Elliot," Mike ordered. "We'll handle Technus."

"No argument here," Danny shouted over his shoulder. The ghost boy had a bone to pick with the spy, and Agent 02 had used the term "dispatch" loosely. _Very loosely._

* * *

Jackson set lasers to kill and swooped in. The auto-tracking devices locked on to Technus' large ecto-signature and opened fire. The bolts were not made from ectoplasm and were not solid objects. The GIW had found that lasers were more effective against Technus than any other kind of weapon available. The techno-ghost roared in pain as lasers tore into his arachnid body and slashed at his prone form. 

"You humans dare to attack me?" Technus bellowed as his spider shell turned to face them. "I shall tear out your hearts and feast on them!"

Mike launched a flare missile which was just another fancy word for EMP bomb. The missile impacted on Technus' body and detonated. The contained blast washed across the robotic spider, but did little more than anger it.

"Fool!" Technus shouted as he spat corrosive acid at the man. "I have shielded myself against your pitiful electro magnetic pulse attacks! I am impervious!"

Jackson's glider swooped in, firing a painful volley of laser fire into the ghost's backside. Technus spun around and reciprocated with a volley of his own. Rather than laser fire, Technus preferred missiles. His were telepathically controlled by him and were immune to scrambling systems.

Jackson leapt from his glider and landed on one of the missiles, using his jammer to disable the firing mechanism. He then set a timer on the warhead and jumped from the missile onto his glider which had been keeping speed alongside its rider. He flew in front of the tampered projectile until the timer went off. Jackson hit the accelerator on his speeder just as the other missiles impacted the lead, detonating all of them simultaneously.

Mike grinned at his partner's efforts as he pummeled the ghost with his own laser flak, drawing the specter to a cliff edge away from the observatory. Although Technus had avoided implementing an obvious flaw in his suit this time around, his bodily defenses were very poor. It was only a matter of time before the suit was worn down and the agents could move in for the capture. The agents continued their battle while another one was being waged on the balcony above.

* * *

Phantom landed on the platform near the large telescope harder than he had intended. The floor cracked beneath his feet and tiles shattered from the force. He saw Sam lying on the ground holding a hand over her face. Everyone else looked fine. 

Elliot, who was standing near Sam, took several steps forward with a malicious grin on his face.

"So, the ghost kid actually decided to show up? How very unusual. Tell me, ghost, why have you come here?"

Phantom met Elliot's gaze with a fiery one. His eyes were glowing with more intensity than the lights on the balcony and Elliot even had to squint.

"You have placed human lives in danger," Phantom said calmly. "If you don't back down, I'll _make_ you back down."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you? You can't touch me," Elliot spat. "Once my superiors are finished with the ghost spider, you're next."

"Your superiors are with me," Phantom, growled. "Once they're finished with Technus, they're coming for you." Phantom smiled. "You better pray they go easy on you, because it'll be far worse than what I've got in mind. And I have _quite_ an imagination."

Elliot snarled. "Liar!"

"They told me to _dispatch_ you," Phantom said as he floated off the ground. He fed ectoplasm into his hands, which glowed as vividly as his eyes. The normally white aura that emanated from his body glowed green. "I think that's my new favorite word."

Phantom lunged at Elliot with a scream, but the boy barely flinched. He raised his weapon and fired, but the ecto-weapon's blast was swatted aside. Phantom dodged an attempted kick and delivered a punch to Elliot's face. His rectangular glasses shattered and flew from his face. Spittle and blood spewed from his mouth and Danny released the stream of energy from his hand, sending the boy crashing headfirst into a wall.

Elliot struggled to move, but Phantom was on him before he could take a full breath. The ghost picked him up by his shirt collar and threw him up into the air. Ghost rays shot up and connected with Elliot's flailing form as the boy began to descend to the ground. Phantom was there to meet him and punched Elliot in the stomach right before he hit the ground. The human coughed up blood and spat it to the pearly white floor under him.

"You think you can just get away with this?" he coughed. "A ghost attacking an innocent human? How will that help your reputation as a hero?" he hissed in pain.

"Considering you're the one who took hostages, I think it's gonna help a lot."

Phantom was surprised the words were not his own, because that's exactly what he was going to say. He turned to look at the source of the voice and saw Valerie give him a nod.

"I'm on Phantom's side, you creep," she shouted at Elliot.

"So am I," said her mother, placing a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Me too," Phantom recognized Star's voice as she stood out from the crowd.

"I got your back!"

"We're with you all the way ghost kid!"

"Go back to your corporate masters, government spy!"

Phantom turned to Elliot with a devious smile as everyone else rallied behind him.

"What is wrong with you people?" Elliot shrieked as he stood to his feet. "He's a ghost! He's evil! He'll kill us all if we don't destroy him first!"

"Talk about hitting first, huh?" Valerie shouted. "Try explaining to Phantom why Sam has a black eye!"

Elliot glared at Valerie, but backed down as he saw Phantom's eyes glow even brighter.

"You hit Sam?" Phantom whispered.

"How else was I going to rally everyone here? I figured you wouldn't resist a situation like this, and punching the little freak in the face was a good way to get everyone close enough to set the trap."

Elliot took several shaky steps closer and began laughing. Phantom remained motionless as the boy came closer and closer. He raised his weapon and pointed it at the ghost's head.

"Check and mate," Elliot laughed.

Green fire danced in Phantom's eyes. They were completely illuminated now, covering even the whites and pupils. As the barrel of Elliot's gun touched Phantom's forehead, a lance of green electricity leapt from the ghost boy, through the gun and into Elliot's body. The boy was tossed back and his leg met the balcony ledge at an angle. A sickening wet snap was heard as the leg broke in an unnatural direction, the bone protruding from his right shin.

Phantom raised his hands above his head and formed a massive ball of electric ectoplasm. Elliot raised his gun and fired just as the ball was sent hurdling at him. The two projectiles sped at each other like two old friends, but as they met, Elliot's shot passed through Phantom's attack and fed off the powerful energy inside. As it erupted from the other side, it was notably larger and much more deadly. Of course this was hardly a problem as the shot went wide and slammed into the wall of the telescope room.

Phantom was much more accurate. His blast engulfed Elliot, who shrieked in agony as the blast not only burned and electrocuted him in the third degree, but tore the ledge apart and sent the boy careening down the steep hillside. Phantom was about to make sure he had done his job when something shocked him out of his enraged state. Electricity coursed through his very being, zapping him from the inside.

* * *

Technus' copy received its activation code. The ghost activated the electrocution sequence in the jacket, shocking the ghost boy from within his molecular structure. Somehow, the jacket was ripped from Phantom and strewn to the ground. It was one of the many variables the original Technus had accounted for so the copy would not become distracted. 

Following the original's instructions, the copy beamed itself into the cell phone of a certain boy who was hanging onto a mangled balcony for dear life. Technus' copy searched the phone's sent call list. After a thorough search, the copy found what it was looking for and sent itself to that number. It was the number of a run-down motel on the edge of town. Upon arriving in the phone at the motel room, Technus' copy extracted itself from the device and took a visible form identical to that of the original. After a quick search of the room, the copy found what it was looking for; a small metal sphere nestled in a safe. Technus' copy examined the contents which was nothing more than a vile of swirling black goop before making haste for a rendezvous location in Wyoming.

Whatever was in the vile was important enough for Technus to risk his life over, and he wasn't about to let anything happen to it. Once it was in Plasmius' hands, she could do whatever she pleased.

* * *

Phantom cried out and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. There was no plausible explanation for such a blast of electricity that Phantom could conjure up in his agonized mind. Such pain hadn't been felt since . . . the jacket! It must have been the jacket electrocuting him from the inside. The ghost turned his hand intangible in desperation trying to rip the coat off from inside his body. Imagine his surprise when his hand in its intangible state grasped something leathery which just happened to be the coat that tormented him so. Phantom ripped the jacket off and moaned as he threw it to the ground. He panted from exhaustion, but struggled to remain in his ghost form with so many people around. 

Phantom felt like passing out. It seemed like a good idea, but something made his blood run colder than it already was. Elliot's twisted laughter.

"Say good bye, ghost kid!" he cried out from his position on the edge of the balcony. He was barely hanging on as his skin, blackened and dead, was peeling off, and causing him to slip towards his death. He managed to aim the gun and fire, but the blast was, again, off.

It wasn't until Phantom heard the groan of straining metal did he realize that Elliot hadn't been aiming for him either time. Both shots had hit their intended targets, and without both the support clamps holding it in place the large metal upside down arch above the door to the telescope room fell from its spot and descended upon those unfortunate enough to be below it.

Phantom shot from the ground, but realized he was too far away to reach it in time. His eyes widened in horror as the structure came ever closer to crushing those beneath it. Phantom sped faster than he ever had in his life. The arch came closer to the ground. It was a race of sorts, and Phantom had never been more determined to win in his life.

* * *

A week later, the hospital was releasing patients who were lucky enough to get by with a broken leg or arm following the incident at the observatory. Stories and memories floated about as each person talked about their own experience. Some of them were angry that Phantom didn't save them, but the majority was grateful that he was there that fateful night. Without him, how would they have lived to see another day? 

The patients talked about how the ghost boy had flown off while hysterically sobbing. It surely wasn't because that white haired boy, Elliot, had slipped from the ledge to plummet to his death. It surely wasn't because of the two men in white suits had blasted a robotic spider to bits and captured a ghost inside what looked like a soup thermos.

The patients decided that it must have been the one woman who wasn't lucky enough to be with them that day. It must have been that woman who arrived there with her daughter. It must have been because the last thing Valerie's mother saw was her own outstretched arms and her daughter safely pushed out of out of harms way.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_You can't win 'em all, Danny._

_Kinda sad, huh? I really don't have much to say, so go ahead and review and such. Next chapter wraps things up and starts some new things. I think you'll be pleased._

_Special thanks goes to _lord lazy pants, TDG3RD, Phantom5656, Andrew Laplante, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, slyfoxx, phantoms-allie, darkbunny92, Skye-chan, Sapphire Wolf Master and MissMeliss4251.


	47. Trust, Lies and Secrets 9

Chapter LIV

Valerie Gray had been one of those ordinary people that wouldn't stand out in a crowd unless they were known. She grew up with a charismatic personality that attracted so many to her. Her parents' love and encouragement along with her brains led to academic superiority among her peers. She was so close to her parents, it was as if they were her two best friends in the world.

Her father worked at Dimmesdale's experimental power plant as security officer where he was tasked with designing and implementing the security systems to guard the secrets of new power sources. Damon Gray was very successful at his work. So successful, in fact, that the prestigious Axion Labs offered him a position as security chief at their primary manufacturing plant in a city barely five hours away. Not one to refuse, he eagerly accepted and relocated his family to the sleepy little town of Amity Park.

Valerie's mother was also brilliant. She had majored in several mathematics courses in college, leading her to work alongside her husband as an engineer. She was also offered a job by Axion Labs and was as eager about the new job as her husband.

Only Valerie was hesitant. She could not explain why she was uneasy about the move, but something just did not feel right. Unable to produce a valid excuse, Valerie tried the usual ploys, like leaving her friends behind and losing touch with her roots. Her hesitation, while noted and examined, was ultimately overlooked. After the family had settled in at their new home Valerie's discontent faded. Despite the unusual appearances of ghosts, the town seemed peaceful enough. The ghost problem was easily overcome by the general hospitality of the townsfolk. She was accepted into the community like a long lost friend. Life was good.

At least until that night at the observatory several weeks later. Valerie's memory of the incident was fuzzy at best, as if it had happened years ago. She remembered a fight between some kid and a ghost, the kid falling off the ledge of the balcony and the arch . . . things got more clouded after the arch. All she could remember were screams of fright and pain as it descended upon them like the thumbnail of some malevolent being, ready to crush the life out of each and every one of them. Most of the people were far enough from the center that they escaped with a broken arm or leg. Valerie's mother was right underneath.

It took rescue crews nearly twenty minutes to arrive and almost an hour longer to move the debris off of Valerie's mother. They knew she was killed instantly even before the refuse was moved aside. What used to be her body was removed from the area, leaving only a traumatized teenaged girl to sit on the ground and hug herself until someone came and brought her home. Her father said she had been there ten minutes before he showed up.

The rest of that night and every day until the funeral, Valerie was silent. Overlapping every memory was the most peculiar sound. It was an irregular tune; a sad and depressing tune that made her tear up at the slightest thought. But if she couldn't figure out what it was, she'd never be able to cope with her mother's death and move on. It was not until the eulogy was given by Damon did the memory resurface in her mind. Her father had finished with the reminiscing with only a few short pauses to hold back the tears and was commemorating the ghost boy on his valiant efforts to save the lives of the hostages on the balcony.

Valerie remembered how the ghost bow had gone into a rage over Sam's treatment by the insane spy, or whatever his gimmick was. She remembered how Phantom nearly killed him right there, but didn't finish him off when he had the chance. With a nauseating feeling, she recalled how she had rallied everyone on the balcony to stand by Phantom's side against a fellow human.

That was a mistake. He had used it to bolster his ego and waited even longer to take out the terrorist just to prove he was a hero. The kid managed to blast the arch off its hinges while Phantom was too caught up in his pride. Valerie remembered the wacko screaming as he fell off the ledge and Phantom came over to get his thanks from everyone. When he saw the ledge fall on everyone, he flew away. _Laughing_.

Valerie sat outside the church on the cold stone steps. Danny sat beside her, holding her in a comforting embrace.

"Val," he said calmly. "If there's anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you."

"I . . . I hate him," she whispered.

"Who?" Danny asked

"Phantom," she choked out, the memories coming up again. "I hate him."

Danny looked at her incredulously. "Valerie, he's the reason the whole place didn't get blasted to pieces! If Phantom hadn't shown up-"

"Then what, Danny?" Valerie snapped, pulling away from the boy. "Gregor or whoever he was said he was going to hold us there until Phantom showed up. If he never came, I'm sure he would've calmed down eventually. But no, the stupid ghost had . . . had to come in guns blazing and ruin everything!"

Valerie stood up and walked over to the railing on the other side of the steps she had been sitting on and quietly cried. Danny moved over to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I wasn't there, and I'm not going to pretend to know how you feel. If you hate Phantom, then there's nothing I can do about it."

Valerie looked at him, noting with surprise that he looked a bit worse for wear, to put it nicely. He hadn't cried at all during the ceremony, but he looked like he hadn't slept in days. There were also cuts and bruises on his hands and face. Danny was never beat up at school, at least not anymore from what she heard, and his parents were probably the nicest people in the entire world. That ruled out any abuse, but how could he look so pathetic? Sure he would beat himself up for not being able to do more, although she loved what he had done to comfort her so far, but it wasn't supposed to be literal.

"I know you think he's a hero," Valerie said quietly, "but if it wasn't for him, my mother would still be alive."

Danny sighed. "I understand."

"And I don't want to make you feel any worse, but I have to tell you something."

Danny nodded as she turned to face him directly.

"I never told anyone else about this, and only my family knew. My mom had cancer. It was advanced, too, and the doctors gave her about three months to live."

"Val," Danny gasped in shock.

"She was always a fighter, but there's only so much anyone can really do," Valerie wiped away a tear. "The doctors told her three months ago."

Danny was speechless.

"I always thought she'd be one of those cancer survivors who lived through it, but now . . ."

"Phantom took that away," Danny said absently.

Valerie nodded. "It was getting closer to the time the doctors said she was . . . and I felt like if she died, I would too. I did some things I regret, but now." Valerie hugged Danny and rested her head on his chest. "I can't do this anymore," she said sadly. "I rushed things with us, and I shouldn't have. I didn't think it would end like this, but-"

Danny pushed her back to look into her eyes. "You need some time to clear your head?"

Valerie nodded.

Danny gave a weary smile. "I kinda thought we were going a bit too fast too. Not that I didn't like it or anything, even if it was just for a week, but still."

Valerie gave a small chuckle. "You're such a dweeb."

"Am I a dweeb who is still your friend?"

"Always," Valerie whispered, wiping more tears away as they solemnly trickled down her cheeks.

The two turned as Mr. Gray walked up to them, his eyes red and puffy and a clearly used handkerchief hanging from his pocket. "Valerie," Damon said in a hushed tone. "We're leaving for the cemetery now."

The Gray's had decided on a private burial for family and close friends of the deceased only. Since Danny didn't fall into any of those categories, he was forced to remain behind.

Valerie nodded and hugged Danny one last time. "Thanks Danny. For everything."

"You're welcome, Valerie. And if you ever need anything, just let me know."

The girl smiled and nodded as she followed her father to the black SUV waiting in line with the other black vehicles of the procession.

Valerie climbed into the passenger side as her father entered the front. The line of cars slowly started their journey from Amity Park's church to the cemetery on the other side of town. The grief-stricken girl looked out of the window to see Danny Fenton looking with despair into the darkening sky. She felt the urge to cry attack again as Danny's fists rocketed upward and his mouth opened, letting out a cry of anguish and defeat. He fell back on the steps and covered his face with his hands, his howls of sadness shaking his entire body.

It was her mother's funeral; it was the funeral of her father's wife, of her grandparents' daughter and of so many family friends. But Danny looked as if he had suffered a greater loss than any of them.

* * *

A pair of green eyes slowly blinked open, but quickly shut as a thick liquid substance washed over them. The eyelids slowly retreated, letting the soothing material do its work. Elliot could feel the skin crack and flake away at the slightest movement. It was almost as painful as the throbbing feeling in his leg. 

"Hello there, Elliot," said a familiar voice.

The boy dared not to turn his head, lest it fall off, but he recognized the speaker almost instantly.

"Mike?" he whispered. A burning itchy sensation spread across his lips and face. He winced, creating even more pain. Calming himself to keep from convulsing, Elliot looked at Mike with his eyes only. "Wh-what happened," he croaked out despite the pain. "Where am I?"

Agent 02 smiled. "You're at GIW HQ, Amity Park. Any idea why we might have brought you here?"

Elliot strained to remember. There was an attack by the ghost kid and he had stepped in to defend . . . no, that wasn't right, something else happened. Phantom was involved, but how?

"No clue."

Mike smiled. "You almost killed over twenty people with that little stunt you pulled. Had you been keeping with GIW Protoform Protocol, we might've given you a medal for your efforts."

"Killed people?"

"Don't you remember? You're the one who called to brief Jackson, after all," Agent 02 said. "You had a _magnificent_ plan that involved taking down Phantom when you were told multiple times not to engage the ghost or any associates of his. Not only did you punch Samantha Manson in the face, but you tried to kill the ghost kid. And, in failing to do so, you are now solely responsible for the death of the mother of a local student. Under normal circumstances, we'd make you go to a court hearing to be tried as an adult."

Mike walked over to a computer terminal and pressed a button. Elliot was floating vertically in a tank of some sustaining liquid that was used to treat ectoplasmic burns, which had added a new fourth degree to the burn scale. The boy was hooked up to various devices that helped to keep him alive, but there was a mysterious compartment jutting out from the glass cylinder that just seemed out of place. Elliot discovered why as the compartment door slid open at Mike's command, releasing dozens of pencil-thin green glowing worms. Ghost planarians, which were one of the few ghost species discovered that were actually bred within GIW containment. The ghost flatworms served several useful and morbid purposes, and Elliot was about to discover one of them.

"Of course, you also created such a huge diversion that Technus was able to break into our BOO and steal the mid-morph DNA sample we so painstakingly acquired. We can't take the crimes you've done against our organization to a regular court. However, I majored in law at college, and I've always wanted to convict someone," Mike continued as the large eyes on the ghosts glowed red at the scent of charred skin. Their little wriggly forms slithered faster to Elliot's body, hunger driving them into a frenzy.

"Before we can present your case to Agent X, you need to be cleaned up first. We can't have a guilty man looking unkempt, now can we?"

Elliot tried not to scream as the ghost planarians found him and fazed into his body where they would devour the charred and burned skin from the inside. The boy squirmed in pain as the worms went to work. Mike just smiled.

"I'll be back in a week. Those little buggers should be done by then."

Elliot tried to beg for him not to leave, he tried to scream for the pain to stop, but his muffled shouts of agony went unheard and the boy resigned to his fate.

* * *

Phantom sat atop the Terror Tower Hotel, the highest building in Amity Park. He looked up into the sky. It was still dark and rain fell from the sky softly, as if there weren't enough people crying already. 

The ghost looked from the sky, which was growing ever darker, to the streets below. People went about their business, most of them had never even heard of Valerie Gray or her family. Amity Park was one of the largest cities in the United States and had one of the highest populations as well.

All of those people, all of those hundreds of random persons meandering aimlessly in the roads below, and it had to be Valerie's mother to die by his error. Phantom pondered, had it been anyone else, would the pain be any less? Would the anonymity of the identity of the victim ease the internal suffering? With a nauseating feeling, Phantom knew he would still feel as miserable as he did now.

The people of Amity Park, those innocent lives, the men, women and children, all of them were his to defend and protect. He had failed before, in the beginning when he was unable to grasp the sheer responsibility of his status. But now, he was more knowledgeable. He was, if only slightly, more powerful and he had the ability to save endangered lives. Even with his advantages, he had still failed.

Phantom let himself fall back onto the concrete roof and let out a sigh. The fight from the night a week ago had yet to fully wear off, and the stress from his situation didn't help at all. To his dismay, Phantom found that his regenerative factor had been acting slowly and had regressed to its earlier stages where bruises and cuts were still visible.

"Hero gig still breakin' your balls, kid?" asked a familiar voice.

"You have no idea," Phantom replied to the Box Ghost.

"This is, like, what, strike two for you?" The friendly specter asked.

"Something like that."

The box ghost conjured up a wooden cube and sat on it. He reached into a pocket on his overalls and retrieved some magazine, which could have been ancient.

"When Marvel comics started pumping out Stan Lee's works, I was one of those typical bad ghosties you beat the crap out of on a daily basis, harassing and stealing and the like. Of course, the GIW hadn't been much of a problem back then and, all things considered, I was pretty weak . . . and annoying, if memory serves."

"Look, do you have a point to all this? I'm really not in the mood for idle chit-chat."

The box ghost tossed Phantom the book. His eyes widened as the cover became recognizable.

"This isn't-"

"You know what page to go to," the Box Ghost said with a smile

Phantom quickly flipped through the pages until the tattered paper revealed the image he had been searching for.

"That's the very first one EVER made EVER. There's a signature or something on the back cover that authenticates it."

Phantom was not paying attention to the Box Ghost's information. His eyes were glued to the famous words that had become his creed. Those words that reminded him of his duty. And it was those words that let Phantom get to his feet. He opened the Fenton Thermos on his belt and slid the comic book inside to protect it from any damaging substances that could get on it.

"Thanks Box Ghost, I won't forget this."

The aforementioned ghoul rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Its in better hands now. I'm sure you'll take good care of it."

Phantom nodded before taking to the skies. He wanted to get home quickly, to deliver a precious cargo to its new home and to talk to some people who he took for granted almost every day.

As you know, with great power comes great responsibility.

* * *

Jack and Maddie Fenton had returned home from the funeral after giving their condolences to the Gray family. It was a very somber day indeed, but the two scientists couldn't dwell on the sadness. There was work to be done and large government checks to be taken. 

The two Fentons had been in the lab for nearly an hour when their son had dropped in.

"Uh, mom? Dad?"

"Danny, sweetie!" Maddie exclaimed, setting her equipment down to hug her son. "I thought you'd be with Valerie today, why are you home so soon?"

"Valerie kinda needs some alone time," Danny sighed. "A _lot_ of alone time."

"She broke up with you?" Jack asked with a concerned expression.

"I figured she needed her space after everything that's happened in the last week," Danny said sadly.

"Well I think you two needed to slow down from the get go," Maddie commented. "I mean you managed to get over that Penelope girl quickly enough."

"Those were . . . different circumstances," Danny said uneasily.

Maddie raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask questions.

"Uh, mom? Dad? Do – do you guys think it was Phantom's fault it happened? The whole thing on the balcony and all?"

Jack and Maddie looked at each other. "Well," Jack started. "He _was_ there when everything happened. He _was_ shooting at that one kid and he didn't _really_ do anything to get the hostages out of the way."

"Of course," Maddie said glaring at her husband after seeing Danny's mood visibly worsen. "If Phantom _hadn't_ been there, the injuries could have been much worse. The crazed gunman could have killed his hostages if Phantom didn't show up and the damage to the observatory could have been much more extensive."

"Yeah, right," Jack muttered. Maddie elbowed him in the side, but saw Danny's head droop.

"Sweetie, is there something you need to tell us? We're your parents; you can tell us anything."

Danny looked from his mother to his father and back again. How could he tell them he was half ghost? His parents, although they had said otherwise, hated ghosts with a passion. They hunted them, dissected them and removed the still-living remains from the very lab he was standing in molecule by molecule. Would they be able to accept his ghost half? Danny knew it was a very slim chance, and that made his mood worsen.

Despite his incredibly dark mood, a serious thought managed to brush it all aside as it hit him. If he continued to let events or words of others negatively affect his mood, he would not walk away from the incidents of mid-late February to early March without permanent emotional and psychological damage. He needed to find something – anything – that could help him feel better. Revealing his secret would have to wait.

"No, its nothing, really. I just wanted to say I really appreciate you guys, even though it may not seem like it all the time. I feel kinda upset that it took the death of someone else's mom to get me to say it."

Maddie and Jack smiled. "We're your parents, Danny," Maddie said. "You don't have to thank us."

"Although it is nice that you did say it," Jack added. "Say, you wanna head upstairs and order a pizza?"

"I'm gonna have to pass, dad," Danny said glumly. "I've been moping all week and I hardly talked to Tucker or Sam at school. I really need to check in on them, make sure they're alright."

Jack nodded. "Well when you get back, we'll have pizza! Maybe we'll go see a movie too, just the three of us!"

"Three?" Danny asked as he headed over to the stairs.

"Jazz has been counseling students at their houses today to help deal with the grief," Maddie explained. "She called about an hour ago and said she probably wouldn't be home tonight."

Danny sighed. "Alright. Just call before you make any plans."

"Ok sweetie," Maddie said with a smile. Danny disappeared up the steps and the woman turned to Jack with wild eyes. "Jack, did you see those wounds? What on earth has happened to him?"

Jack looked at the stairs thoughtfully. "You know, I've been rethinking my ideas about Danny's connection to Phantom."

"What do you mean?"

"What if you were right that day we examined those recordings?"

Maddie gasped. "You mean about Danny and Phantom being one in the same?"

"At first it just sounded stupid. I mean really, a human with _ghost powers_? What kind of nonsense is that?" Jack stopped laughing as he saw his wife looking at him angrily. "But, you know, it wasn't that stupid. I meant to say, at the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. But there was the incident in December with the dragon ghost, that whole ordeal at Vanessa's place which nobody seems to remember at all, the video recording we have and now this?"

"So what do you think is going on?"

Jack sighed. "Either Danny is more involved with Phantom's ghost fighting than we've realized, or Danny is fighting ghosts _as_ Phantom. If this keeps getting worse, then we're going to have to do something about it."

"But you've seen him lately, Jack," Maddie said with worry. "He's so worked up over everything; I don't think he'd be able to handle us confronting him about it yet."

"Don't think of it as adding more to his stress, think of it as lessening it!" the large man exclaimed jovially. "With whatever he's hiding from us out of the way, he'll have one less thing to worry about!"

Maddie rubbed her forehead. "I'm not thrilled about it, but I guess you have a point. We can't ask him about it until it gets too much for him, though."

"How are we going to be able to tell when that happens?" Jack asked.

Maddie bit her lower lip. "I don't know, Jack . . . I don't know."

* * *

Tucker Foley sat on his bed staring up at the ceiling. There was absolutely nothing to do. Sam had made a short appearance at the funeral, but left after too many people noticed the slightly swollen area around her eye. Tucker felt bad, but decided to let her have time to herself. That was one of his bigger mistakes of the day. Without Sam, there was nobody to talk to. Danny had been less than sociable in the last few days, taking comfort in the warm embrace of the empathetic A-List as they dealt with Valerie's loss. 

Usually the techno-genius could find something to do with nobody to keep him company, but everyone's dark moods made even the prospect of turning on his PDA unappealing. He was giving up on doing anything on the gloomy Saturday afternoon when he heard a knock. He wouldn't have been so excited if it hadn't come from his window.

"Dude," Tucker said as Phantom fazed through the glass. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

The ghost looked down as the silver green rings formed at his waist and returned him to his human form. Tucker noticed that Danny Fenton was wearing his techno-letterman jacket.

"I'm sorry I picked now of all times to drop in and say hi. And I shouldn't have just ditched you and Sam during the week."

"It's cool, man," Tucker said. "But if you feel the need to apologize, I think Sam would benefit more from the gesture."

Danny nodded and slid the jacket he was wearing from his shoulders. He looked at it for a moment before handing it over.

"You're giving me your jacket?" Tucker asked with a grin. "What's next, a class ring?"

Danny smiled and rolled his eyes. "I want you to see if you can figure out how to shut off whatever it was that electrocuted me. Or make a firewall against Technus. Or something."

Tucker sat down in his chair and shuffled through papers with complex equations and various schematics scrawled across them. Finally, he found a small golden disc and held it in the air triumphantly.

"I already have the firewall done, if you want it."

Danny's jaw dropped. "How the heck did you get that?"

"Technus might be the ghost master of technology, but he's definitely not the ghost master of covering his tracks." The boy picked up his PDA and waved it in the air. "That spook left his basic programming on my baby. I managed to create a highly adaptable program based on it that counters all of his intrusion techniques and anything else he might have up his sleeve the next time we meet."

Danny folded his arms across his chest. "You should get a cape or something, because you're just amazing."

"Aw stop, you're making me blush," Tucker said sarcastically. "Let me take a look at that jacket for you and I'll see what I can do. If I can't remove the system that generates the electric shocks, I should be able to deny Technus access to it. It might take a while, though."

"I'm not gonna wear it until you're done, don't worry about that."

"Good to hear. Now go find your Gothic mistress and apologize all nice and sensual-like."

Danny frowned as he transformed into Phantom. "I'll be sure to send Star over here on my way to Sam's, then."

"Don't bother. She's with Valerie, and will be for the rest of the day, if I know Star."

"Which you do?" Phantom asked curiously.

Tucker was hard at work and didn't bother to respond as he attempted to use his PDA to locate the source of the coat's possibly lethal offensive weapon.

Phantom growled and flew through the window in the direction of Sam's house. The rain had stopped and the clouds were beginning to part. The ghost boy couldn't help but smile. Maybe his day was looking up, if only very slightly.

He arrived at Sam's house and saw her sitting at her desk, writing something in what could have been a diary. He tapped on her window and the girl looked up to see what had created the noise. A faint smile appeared on her face as she got up to let the ghost boy, as well as some fresh air, in.

"Took you long enough," Sam said.

"I know," Phantom replied, floating over to her bed and sitting down. "And I'm sorry."

Sam took her seat at her desk and placed the small book inside a drawer. "Don't be. We both kinda screwed up this time."

Phantom nodded in agreement and looked into Sam's eyes. If he counted all the people he had ever seen with the same colored eyes as his friend on his hands, he'd have nine fingers left. They were beautiful and hypnotic, but Phantom wasn't visiting his best friend to get lost in her irises.

"I really am, though. I didn't mean to abandon you guys, but look at what happened because I did."

Phantom leaned forward and gently brushed his gloved hand along Sam's recovering eye. Sam grabbed Phantom's wrist and lightly squeezed it.

"Don't do this," Sam sighed. "I'm just so sick of all this craziness; I don't need more right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought I had a boyfriend, Danny, a guy who was nice and liked me for me, not my money or something like that. But, turns out the only way a boy could like me is if he was trying to get at you."

Phantom lowered his head in shame. "Sam, you know that's not true. There are a million reasons a guy could like you."

"Like what? My money? My connections? My-"

"Smarts, maybe? How about your sense of humor, hmm? You're unselfish, you're nice, caring, gorgeous, friendly-"

"Wait, what did you say?"

Phantom scowled. "You heard me, and I mean every word of it. I have enough problems right now. I might as well have killed Valerie's mom with my bare hands. I _did_ kill someone else with my bare hands, I let an evil ghost pal around with us for nearly a week, and I'm responsible for the damage to the observatory and all those people who got hurt there. The last thing I need is more guilt because my best friend thinks her first boyfriend sums up the _'significant other'_ experience. On top of all of that, Vanessa's little ghost freaks keep showing up and my healing factor hasn't been doing its job lately. Please don't do this to me, Sam, I can't take it right now."

Sam saw Phantom's eye brimming with tears. She moved from her chair and sat down next to the ghost.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry."

"No, no," Phantom sighed. "It's my fault. I just needed to get that off my chest. Look, I'm going to make it up to you guys once this whole thing settles down a bit. I just need some time to figure things out."

"You have time now," Sam stated. "And maybe I can help."

Phantom stood and paced around the room. "I'm the reason Valerie's mom is dead," he said after a while. "I was so caught up in beating Elliot or Gregor or whoever he was that I didn't even bother to make sure everyone was safe and out of the way."

Sam nodded. "I take it that everyone else you talked to said that you, or _Phantom_, probably saved everyone's lives?"

"Yes," Phantom said angrily. "But nobody understands. That's not how it should have ended. One life as compared to a million doesn't make it ok to me to let that one go. I'm the one with the power; I should've been able to save her."

"You know how Tucker and I tell you not to get cocky?"

Phantom looked at the girl incredulously. "You think I'm being cocky? I don't think I could be more serious if I tried!"

"That may be, but you're trying to elevate yourself to a God-like status. Unlike _some_ people, God can save everyone. He could do it with the snap of His fingers if He wanted to."

"Then why doesn't He?" Phantom growled through clenched teeth. "Why didn't He snap His fingers and save Valerie's mom? Why didn't He snap His fingers and make it so that I didn't get these stupid powers in the first place so none of this would've happened?"

Sam shook her head. "Just because He _can_ doesn't mean He has to. We need to grow, Danny, and we can't just live in happiness and peace all the time, there is pain and suffering all over the world. Why do you think there are people like you who fight for good in the first place? It's because of that pain that you need to go on. Learn from it, Danny; use it to help you grow."

"Grow how? Grow closer to the God that just doesn't care who dies and who lives? Is that what you want me to do?"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Let it help you grow into a better hero, Danny. Let this pain help you grow to accept the fact that you aren't God. You can't save them all."

Phantom sat on Sam's windowsill. "I should be able to, though," he mumbled. "I just . . . I don't know anymore."

Sam got up from the bed and stood in front of the ghost boy. "Well even if you don't believe in Him, just think about what I said. Maybe next time, you will be able to save everyone."

Phantom looked up at Sam with somber eyes. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he said softly.

"You'd go straight to Hell," Sam replied with a grin. "Now enough feeling sorry for ourselves. How about you, me and Tucker meet up at the Nasty Burger for a pre-dinner snack in about ten minutes?"

"That sounds _heavenly_," Phantom answered with a smirk.

Sam smacked him and Phantom used the momentum to faze through the window and fall into the sky outside. He flew away rubbing his face in the direction of Tucker's house and Sam went to get ready. She'd get Danny to see things her way sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before he realized he had no other option if he wanted the strength to keep going.

* * *

Valerie sat on the church steps in the chilly early spring night. Her jacket was pulled up around her ears and the wind sent chills down her spine. That strange phone call she had received earlier had left explicit instructions to meet at the church at precisely midnight. Valerie had been apprehensive at first, but the offer the person had made was very enticing. Feeling another rush of icy wind blow its way through, Valerie snuck a peek at her watch. It was now 12:01 AM. The contact was officially late. 

Valerie was about to leave when she felt the temperature drop even more. It couldn't have been the wind-chill, for the wind had mysteriously stopped. Valerie glanced around, trying to see if the contact had arrived. She looked up and gasped as a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes descended from the dark skies above.

"Hello Miss Gray," the floating figure said very business like. "I am sorry to have to have contacted you under such . . . _grievous_ circumstances, but I had no other option."

"Listen ghost," Valerie hissed. "I'm missing time with family I didn't even know I had right now because of you, so do what you need to do and leave me alone."

"I think you'll find this is a very plausible excuse for your absence," the ghost said as she waved her hand to her side. A box appeared, surrounded by an aura of pink ectoplasm. "This is everything I said I would bring. You get more when I get what I need."

"Which is?"

The eyes narrowed, but Valerie could tell it was because a rather large smile had grown on the ghost's face, although it was blackened by the shadows given off by streetlamps.

The ghost held up a sphere and activated a secret compartment containing a glowing black substance.

"This," the ghost replied simply. "It doesn't concern you now, girl, and be thankful I am even giving you this equipment. It is _quite_ expensive."

Valerie looked over the contents of the large box. She smiled upon seeing all of it, but her smile quickly flipped upside down. "Other than some black goop, what's the catch here?"

The ghost was silent for a moment. "I want you to exact your revenge, my dear. Defeat Phantom in combat, and when he asks 'why' in his dying breath . . . tell him I send my regards."

"I'll need a name if I'm going to do that."

"Plasmius," the ghost said. "Just . . . Plasmius."

To Be Continued.

_A/N_

_Probably the longest chapter yet. A lot of sad stuff here, but I'm going for a happier approach next time around. __The religious segment is there simply because. Take it as you will, I'm not explaining anything, nor should I have to. __I'm going to lay low on the relationship thing for a while. It seems that, no matter who I try and squeeze together, someone ends up getting hurt. Of course, I think you all liked how Elliot got hurt. I sure liked writing it._

_507 reviews! Huzzah! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to that number, especially_ lord lazy pants, Andrew Laplante, MissMeliss4251, leadfoot352, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, Skye-chan, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, darkbunny92, Phantom5656, HiddenAuthor _and_ Musicallity.


	48. Shadows of the Future 1

Chapter LV

"Danny, can we please go home?" Tucker Foley whined from his seat in the Specter Speeder. "We've been mapping this place for hours."

Outside the Specter Speeder, the swirling green mass of the Ghost Zone stretched on into infinitude. Strange ethereal patterns and objects spiraled throughout the spectral plane, adding to the dizzying array of the supernatural that was commonplace in the realm. While the view outside was decidedly green, a lone black-clad figure hovered not five yards from the aptly named vehicle. The young man turned around to face his parent's creation with an exasperated look carved into his face.

"Tucker, how many times do I have to tell you? We're not going any farther than five miles west of Skulker's lair." The boy sighed. "Sam, can you please make him stop whining? We're almost done anyway."

The girl, Sam Manson, which the boy had been speaking to grinned and slammed a fist into Tucker's arm. The wounded teenager yelped and grabbed the afflicted are with his uninjured appendage.

"Alright! Alright! I'll stop!" Tucker cried as he saw Sam winding up another bone-breaking blow. "Look, just hurry it up, will you? We need to get back to the real world soon or your parents will find out we left."

The boy floating outside the Specter Speeder rolled his eyes. "Pansy."

Phantom turned away from the craft and floated onward. He looked around the vast endless expanse of the Ghost Zone and felt something akin to nostalgia. The feeling puzzled Phantom. Why would he feel a sense of familiarity in this strange place? True, he had been here before on other mapping quests, but each time it felt like he was . . . home.

Such thoughts were silly, of course. Phantom knew who he was, at least for the most part, and that included knowing where he was born. It certainly was not in the eerie vortex he was floating in now.

Phantom was so caught up in his thoughts he barely had time to register a massive wall of blackened rock before he crashed into it head first.

"Dude, are you deaf?" Tucker shouted through the comm. system in the speeder. The earphone Phantom was wearing picked up the scolding, as it had picked up the whining the boy had done for the previous several hours. "I've been shouting at you about that wall for almost a minute."

Phantom rubbed his head. "Sorry Tuck," the ghost boy said. "I was distracted."

"No, distracted was when you dropped that ice sculpture on your toe at Sam's birthday/ pool party last year when she came out of her house in that onyx bikini-"

Tucker's injured arm received another strike from a very red Sam. Tucker noticed with amusement that Phantom, despite his being a ghost, was also sporting a sort of blush on his face as well. The pain was worth the reaction.

Phantom pushed the thoughts from his head. It was poor judgment to think about his friend in such a way. She knew he thought she was beautiful, but that was no reason to leap into a relationship. Besides, he was still getting over his last two romantic experiences, the latest being nearly a month ago. April had brought many new things. There were fewer ghost sightings, the A-List was becoming very comfortable and his two best friends were still his best friends.

April had also brought this strange wall into Phantom's face, which was not very beneficial. Of course, it marked the end of his mapping for the weekend so at least some good came of it.

"You guys take the speeder back around until you can tell me just how big this place is. I'm going to get a sample of this _stupid _rock that smacked me in the face."

Tucker sent a thumbs up and maneuvered the sleek vehicle through the ectoplasm around it. It quickly disappeared, leaving Phantom to his own work. He pulled out his Fenton Thermos and ran his free hand over the edifice searching for a sizeable jut. His fingers made contact with a suitable chunk and, using his enhanced strength, Phantom broke it off from the rest of the rock. He placed the sample in the thermos and closed the lid before returning the device to his belt.

"You guys find anything?" Phantom asked as he pressed his finger to the earphone in his ear.

"Yeah," Tucker replied. "The rock is pretty big, but it just looks like a typical big floating black ghost rock."

"If it's so typical, how come we've never seen one before now?" Sam retorted. "We've been exploring this place for months and I've never seen anything like it."

"Don't be a smart-ass," Tucker warned humorously.

"Tucker!" Phantom yelled. "What have I told you about using those words?"

"Oh, that's right. I'm not supposed to swear around your woman. Her virgin ears just can't handle it."

Phantom chuckled. "Speaking of virgins, Tuck, how are you and Star doing?"

"Oh yeah," Sam said triumphantly as Tucker blushed beneath his dark complexion. "He so _totally_ went there."

Phantom appeared before the Specter Speeder with a boyish grin on his face. "I think we're done here," the ghost said. He fazed into the vehicle and sat on the bench in the back. A silver green ring formed at his waist and split in two. The rings sped in opposite directions, locking Phantom within the molecular structure of Danny Fenton. "Captain Foley," Danny said tiredly, "hard to stern. Take this tub back to the docks."

"Aye, sir," Tucker replied while turning the Specter Speeder back in the direction they came from. "We've got at least an hour before we arrive back, make yourself comfortable."

Danny sprawled himself across the bench, his hands cupped behind his head. He gazed up at the ceiling for a while until something nudged him. Turning his head sluggishly, he saw Sam standing over him. Her black jean skirt went nicely with the violet top that seemed just a bit too tight. Her hair was let down to her shoulders and a simple purple clip held it out of her eyes. She sat down next to Danny, prompting him to scoot over so she could lie down next to him.

"What's it like out there," she asked softly while snuggling up against Danny's lean frame.

"It's cold, dark and scary," he replied while wrapping an arm around the girl.

"Sounds like my kind of place," Sam said with a grin.

"Trust me, the novelty is already gone."

Sam smiled as she dozed off to the land of dreams. Danny grinned at her before succumbing to his own drowsiness and fatigue.

Tucker looked over his shoulder and shook his head with a smirk. _They're already sleeping together_, he thought as he covertly snapped a picture of the couple on his PDA.

* * *

Danny sat down at his usual lunch table the next day. Dash and Kwan and the others nodded at him as the boy took his seat, looking at the unappetizing array of food on their plates and deciding what to attempt to stomach first. 

"So get this," Dash started. "I'm walking home from school on Friday and, out of nowhere, a freaking ghost attacks me!"

"Seriously?" Kwan asked.

"Yeah, dude, I swear, but that's not the weird part. I'm . . . uh, fighting this thing off when this chick on some kind of flying surf board zooms in and just shoots the crap out of it! It didn't even stand a chance!"

"You know," one of the other boys said. "Something like that happened to me and Mia. We were down by the pier-"

"Doing anatomy homework, I presume?" Danny chimed in with a devious grin.

"-and this huge ghost squid thing comes up out of the water and starts trashing the place." The teen continued while ignoring Danny's comment. "People were screaming and running all over the place, but the same chick came in, guns blazing. Turned it into calamari!"

Danny pondered the stories, wondering who the mystery woman was. Apparently she hunted ghosts, which didn't seem too unusual. It was Amity Park, after all, which meant there were now six ghost hunters that lived in the area; himself, Sam and Tucker, his parents and now this new girl. Perhaps he should go out and give an introduction, which would most likely end up with him getting shot. Repetitively. In the face.

"Hi Danny!" said a cheery voice. Danny turned around to see Valerie, beaming at him as she made her way over to the table. "What's up? I haven't talked to you in, like, forever!"

"Val, it's been two days," Danny said obliviously as the girl took a seat next to him. "You seem unusually perky today, what gives?"

Valerie faked a shocked look and wrapped her arms around her chest. "How dare you!"

Danny rolled his eyes and smiled. "I meant emotionally. However . . ."

"I'm not allowed to be happy?" Valerie said, cutting him off before the boy could continue.

"I didn't say that."

Valerie smiled and stretched her arms. "I found a great way to relieve stress a few weeks ago. It's amazing; really, I've never felt more alive!"

"Well I'm happy for you," Danny said sincerely. "So, are you excited for a short week?"

Valerie smiled. An electrical fire had broken out in the computer lab and nearly took out the whole north side of the building. Luckily Phantom had been there to put it out, but the damage was extensive. It appeared that there was some sort of fight in the lab before the fire was even put out. Authorities had no answer and decided that the fire must have been responsible. Seriously now, what would attack Phantom in a _computer lab_? The insurance would front the bill, but the damage had spread through the entire school's electrical systems effectively shutting them down. Repair crews were coming in on Wednesday to fix everything, giving the students of Casper High a week off, not including the next weekend.

"Who isn't?" the girl replied. "So much free time, it's going to be so much fun."

"I hope. So, what do you think about this new ghost hunter in town?"

"You mean the Huntress?" Valerie replied. "The one on the surf board thingy?"

"Is that what she calls herself?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. She got rid of a couple spooks that were following me around on Saturday and we had a small chat."

Danny paled. "Val, please tell me you didn't mention your little vendetta against Phantom?"

Valerie looked at the table with guilt, avoiding her ex-boyfriend's gaze. "I couldn't let that opportunity slip by, Danny, I'm sorry."

Danny sighed and rubbed his temples. "I take it when Phantom and this Huntress lady meet up, there's not going to be many kind words between them?"

Valerie looked up. "I sure hope not. I hope Phantom gets what he deserves."

"He deserves a standing ovation from the entire city." Dash butted in angrily. "He deserves the key to the city. Heck, I'd vote him for mayor!"

"Valerie, I know you hate Phantom more than any of us can possibly imagine," Kwan said, placing a hand on Dash's shoulder to prevent a violent outburst. "None of us can possibly understand, but I can at least try." The Asian boy cleared his throat. "My cousin was on the observatory when the arch fell. His entire arm was crushed and it had to be amputated because it was just so messed up. Do you know what he said to me when I went to visit him in the hospital? He told me he was so thankful Phantom was there, he barely even felt the pain. If the ghost boy hadn't shown up, it's very likely that _everyone_ who was up there would have been killed."

"Your cousin is entitled to his opinion, Kwan," Valerie said quietly. "It's just my opinion that his is_ wrong_."

Kwan removed his hand from Dash's shoulder. "As you were," he said permissively.

"And another thing," Dash continued. "I heard from my buddy that you said you were behind Phantom a hundred percent when he came in to save you. You managed to get everyone on the whole balcony on Phantom's side. Why do you hate him now?"

Valerie glared at Dash. "You think I _knew_ he was evil then? I was just like the rest of you. I thought he was a hero. But none of you were up there; none of you saw his eyes. None of you saw him fly away laughing after the arch fell. He killed my mother, and I hope the Huntress paints the town green with his blood."

Danny slammed his fists on the lunch table, leaving a series of cracks along the plastic surface that went unnoticed. His eyes were shut tightly to prevent anyone seeing them glowing with rage. He stood from the table and stormed out of the room, leaving his personal affects behind.

"See what you did?" Dash said accusingly, pointing at the doors as they swung shut after Sam and Tucker had hurried after Danny. "Why can't you just let it go? You're not going to kill Phantom, you're going to send Danny off the deep end, that's what you're going to do."

"Don't tell me to_ just let it go_, Baxter," Valerie hissed. "You have no idea what I'm going through."

"That's no reason to try and convince the world that Phantom's a menace," Paulina said bitterly. "And it certainly is no reason to drive Danny into a berserker mode." The Hispanic girl made her way to the exit and left the cafeteria in search of Danny.

"Val, listen," Kwan said calmly. "I know you're in a bad way right now, but I don't want you ticking everyone off. You seem to know just what strings to pull here and you're just giving off this vengeful aura. Honestly, we don't want any part of it."

"Way to gay it up, dude," Dash said sarcastically. "What Kwan's trying to say is _get out of our table_."

"What is this, the Phantom Fan Club?" Valerie asked mockingly.

"No, this is a table where we try to keep positive spirits," Kwan replied. "And you're seriously messing with the good chi."

Valerie scowled at the two boys before storming off. Once she was gone, Dash turned on his friend.

"Dude, you're seriously creeping me out. _Good chi_?"

"I had to get her to leave somehow," Kwan said with a smug expression. "How does one respond to something like that?"

Dash laughed. "One word. _Queer_."

"Very funny. I'll have to tell your boyfriend next time I see him."

"Even if I did have one, why would you be seeing him?"

"Oh come on, all the ladies know that Dash Baxter fails to satisfy _anyone_."

"Guys," Star said hastily. "Come on, I'm trying to eat here."

Kwan and Dash laughed at the girl's unease and went back to eating their lunches. Of course it was more like looking at the stuff that was supposed to be edible. The A-List continued gossiping and telling tales of ghost encounters in peace, but then the whole room was thrown into chaos as the ceiling exploded.

* * *

Danny stumbled out of the cafeteria and slammed into the wall adjacent to the doors. He pushed away and staggered down the hall, trying to prevent his rage and overwhelming guilt from literally bringing him down. 

It had been almost a month with no mention of the incident on the balcony. Danny was beginning to think that everything would be ok. He would be able to accept his failure, Valerie's grudge would remain simply a grudge and his life would become less complicated.

It is never quite that easy.

Danny fell to the ground against a row of lockers, unable to go any further. He refused to cry, but the guilt pushed the tears out anyway. Danny felt so helpless, so vulnerable, but so angry at the same time. There was no name for the emotion; it was too strong for simple words in its complexity.

"Danny!" Sam said as she and Tucker rounded a corner to find their friend kneeling on the floor leaning against the rows of lockers. "Danny, are you ok?"

The boy looked at Sam with an eyebrow raised despite his pathetic appearance.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "Standard question."

"Dude, you can't let her get to you," Tucker said. "She can't see you for what you are, even though everyone else around her can."

"I think she can see me for what I am just fine," Danny said shakily. He stood to his feet and glared at the two. "I'm a murderer. I killed someone, Tucker, she has every right to hate me. She had every right to tell that Huntress girl I killed her mother! She has every right to want to see me dead! I. Am A. Murderer!"

Tucker, not being one for self pity, did what any good friend would do. He punched Danny in the face. Hard. So hard, in fact, that Danny's lip split and blood dripped to the floor, followed shortly by Danny himself. The befuddled teenager looked at his friend in astonishment.

"I'm not going to stand here while you ride the self-pity train. I'll punch you again if I have to, but you're going to shut up one way of the other."

Danny felt his lip and looked at his fingers. He shook his head quickly upon seeing the blood. "Guys," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I-I don't know what-"

"Dude, its fine," Tucker said. "Look, go ahead and blow off some steam, we'll cover for you."

Danny nodded and concentrated on the ghostly energy inside of him. The silver-green rings transformed him into Phantom and he took off through the ceiling.

"Oh my gosh," Paulina exclaimed. "Did you guys see that?"

* * *

Phantom flew through the sunny afternoon sky. This was not his preferred method of relieving stress, but Tucker's punch snapped him back to reality along with his jaw. The kid had a strong left hook. 

Phantom was jolted out of his revelry by the sound of jet engines. "At this altitude?" the ghost mumbled to himself. Phantom looked around. He was barely fifty yards off the ground, no plane would fly this low in a highly populated area, and the airport was clear across town. Phantom turned around and spotted the source of the noise.

A young woman was rapidly approaching from the direction of the school on a long triangular hover board of sorts. She was carrying a simple looking weapon that resembled the Fenton Carbine from his vantage. Her lower body was covered by dark red, skin tight pants and her chest was covered by a similar formfitting top. A black mask wrapped around her forehead and stretched down to her nose, where it split into a V shape revealing the girl's nose and mouth.

"The Huntress, I presume?" Phantom said cordially as the dark skinned girl reached hearing distance. "I do believe you've heard of me?"

"Oh I know you, ghost," the girl said. Her voice sounded oddly familiar. "I know you're a murderous spook that wouldn't hesitate to kill again. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Clearly you've been misinformed," Phantom said.

"My sources are very credible," the Huntress growled as she opened fire on the ghost boy. Phantom dodged the pink bolts of energy that soared past him. Her marksmanship was not very good.

"Can I get the name of the place where you learned to aim?" Phantom taunted as the Huntress pursued him through the sky. "I'll have to recommend it to all the other ghost hunter wannabe's like you who decide to come in to my city."

"Your city?" the Huntress screamed. "This is _not _your city!"

"I was here before you!" Phantom shouted as he turned invisible.

The huntress floated to a stop as she looked around for Phantom. From the side of her mask, a retractable optic sensor maneuvered over her left eye. A lens adjusted within the device and Valerie looked around a second time, this time her ectoplasmic sensors working at full capacity. She saw the form of Phantom floating not ten feet from her.

The Huntress raised her gun and aimed it at the ghost boy's torso. She squeezed the trigger and smiled as Phantom became visible with a shout of pain.

He floated back and clutched his abdomen. "Your little ghost tricks aren't going to save you from me," she said cockily.

The ghost boy moved his hands away from his body and grinned as the open wound in his stomach sealed itself to the point where not even a scar remained. The Huntress gasped.

"Wanna bet?" Phantom let loose a series of his energy beams, each one hitting their marks with expert precision. Well, maybe not _that_ good. The blasts hit their marks on Valerie's board regardless of his aim, piercing one of the engines and sending the craft careening through the air.

The Huntress screamed as her board tossed and turned while plummeting to the ground. "You haven't seen the last of me, Phantom!" the girl growled as she tapped a button with her foot.

The hover board turned into a large bazooka in the blink of an eye, and fired a massive ball of pink energy even faster. Phantom was caught by the blast and sent sailing through the air; the exertion of the force pressing on him almost knocked him out.

The crash through the roof of Casper High's cafeteria finished the job.

* * *

"And in our weekly ghost report, Amity Park's own Phantom made quite an appearance at Casper High School as he crashed through the roof of the cafeteria. No students or faculty were injured and the school board says that the repairs to the cafeteria will be added along with the repairs to the school's electrical systems. In further news, the mysterious young woman calling herself the Huntress met up with Phantom today and the results were explosive, to say the least. Video footage depicts the two fighting valiantly with Phantom being blown away after incapacitating the newest ghost hunter. What does this say about either of them? We're taking your calls and e-mails in the next hour, so feel free to phone in with your opinions. I'm Lance Thunder, back to you, Tiffany." 

Danny clicked off the television and stared glumly at the blank screen.

"Knock it off," Tucker said noting Danny's expression. "It's not like they decided that you're a villain or anything."

"Just let it go," Sam said. "Besides, at least now you know that the Huntress is a lousy shot."

"She nearly exposed me!" Danny whispered angrily. "If I hadn't been buried under the rubble, someone would have seen me change back and it would've been game over!"

"But they didn't," Sam reminded him.

"But they could have," Danny restated. He sighed and stood from the couch. "I'm going down to the lab to check out that rock sample we got yesterday. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Tucker and Sam looked at each other before looking back at Danny's retreating figure. He slipped into the kitchen and out of sight.

"Did he just kick us out of his house?" Tucker asked indignantly.

"Yeah, I think he did."

* * *

Danny sat down at the lab table and examined the Fenton Thermos sitting on the chrome surface. He uncapped the device and tipped the thermos over to allow the rock to tumble out. Normally, that would have been the case, but in stead of a black rock falling from the cylinder, a puddle of black liquid dripped onto the table. 

"What the heck?" Danny scraped a sample of the liquid onto a Petri dish and slid it underneath the Fenton Microscope. Danny looked into the device and gasped at what he saw. "That can't be right," Danny said as he rubbed his eyes. He looked into the microscope again, only to be met with the same sight.

The puddle of black goo was composed of thousands of single celled organisms. They were moving around and swimming all over the place as happy as black ghost cells could be. But something seemed wrong.

Another look revealed to Danny that the cells were just swimming around. There was no cellular reproduction. His mother had told him that cellular structures were different with ghosts than with humans, which was to be expected, but how was this organism supposed to grow if its cells did not regenerate? Even ghost's cells regenerated; otherwise they wouldn't keep coming back to Amity Park to get their butts handed to them.

Danny took an eyedropper and filled it with nega-plasm, a substance created by his parents that was supposed to act as a deadly corrosive by destroying the molecular structure of the victim. Danny had experienced it first hand. The teenager added a drop to the black puddle and watched as the affected cells died, as expected, but the cells remained as they were, not even attempting to replace the lost ones.

Danny then took a small test tube from the rack above the table and examined the occupant. A small ghost dragonfly sat inside, dead. Which is to say, dead again. Danny retrieved another eyedropper and suctioned up a portion of the puddle and placed it on the dragonfly. He then scraped a sample off and placed it back under the microscope to observe the reaction.

He saw the cells begin to fuse with the dead, inactive ones of the ghost sample. The cells began to act like a normal ghost, but with the black cells of the puddle absorbed those of the ghost and it returned to normal. So the black substance either didn't do anything or ate whatever it came into contact with? Boring.

Danny turned to dispose of the dragonfly, only to find it was not there. He looked up in astonishment as the ghost bug flew around the lab, good as new. The only difference was that Danny could see the ghost insect was black instead of white and green.

The teen activated the ghost portal and smiled as the dragonfly returned to its home. Danny shut the gate behind it and looked over the rest of the puddle on the table. There was the issue of getting it back in the thermos without actually touching it, since it seemed to have _unusual_ side effects.

Danny picked up the thermos and aimed it at the puddle. He smiled as the lance of silver suctioning energy retrieved its occupant and set the Fenton creation back on the table. Danny went upstairs, turning off the light and leaving the lab in darkness.

But the darkness of the lab was nothing compared to the darkness inside the Fenton Thermos. Inside the cylindrical container, cells were moving, multiplying and adapting. The black puddle of ectoplasm seeped out of the Fenton Thermos and utilized its ghostly properties to slither across the floor to the steps.

Black, slimy tentacles pulled the substance up the stairs. The hunt for its host had begun.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Wow, sorry for the long wait, people. I had a bunch of school work to do, but its pretty smooth sailing from here on out. This segment develops Valerie's secret identity as the Huntress and introduces an old character in a whole new light. Partially because I hate him in the series. Trust me, you're all going to flip over this one. Even you fatties out there, you'll do a complete flip and land it. Hard to believe, huh? Well I did it, and I only spent an_ hour _in cardiac arrest._

_Don't forget about the contest. 700th reviewer gets to make their own minor character for the series. Nothing major, just a silly ghost that comes in, tries to be scary and gets beat. It doesn't get approved if I don't think its appropriate, and if the next four consecutive ideas are also inappropriate, then I'll just make one up myself, so don't go messing up yours and everyone else's chance at winning by being stupid._

_Of course, I'm not unhappy with the amount of reviews I have now. Special thanks goes to_ Musicallity, Andrew Laplante, Skye-chan, SatuFairy, TDG3RD, lord lazy pants, HiddenAuthor, darkbunny92, MissMeliss4251, Sapphire Wolf Master, leadfoot352, artbug, Fulcon, iGoGhost91 _and _The Halfa Wannabe.


	49. Shadows of the Future 2

Chapter LVI

"Guys, you're not going to believe what happened last night!" Danny announced as he saw his two friends approaching his locker. He noted the worried expressions in their faces and forgot what it was he wanted to say. "What? What's wrong?"

"Danny, I know you've been trying real hard to keep this super hero thing under the radar for a while," Sam said cautiously. "But I think the secret might be out."

Danny gasped. His eyes widened from shock as he looked between his two best friends. "You guys promised . . . you promised you'd never tell _anyone_!"

"What? Oh, no, dude, we didn't tell anyone," Tucker corrected hurriedly. "I think someone oversaw you change."

"W-who?" Danny asked shakily. He looked around the halls of Casper High, trying to find anyone giving him strange looks.

"I don't think telling him is going to make him feel any better," Sam warned as Tucker opened his mouth to answer.

"You guys can't just come up to me, tell me someone _else _knows my secret and expect me to be perfectly fine without knowing who it is," Danny growled.

"Dude, you're going to flip out when we tell you," Tucker sighed.

"Just spill it!" Danny exclaimed.

"Yoo-hoo, Danny!" called the unmistakable voice of Paulina Sanchez.

"I think she just did," Tucker replied sadly.

Danny's jaw dropped. "Oh no," he muttered. "Oh no, oh no, oh God, no, NO!"

"Danny, relax," Sam said firmly. "We can force her into secrecy. Or," she said with a devious grin. "I can get _Uncle Skulker_ to take her out and get rid of the body. Nobody would suspect a thing!"

"I've killed enough people, thanks," Danny said glumly. "The last thing I need is more guilt."

"Well you have to do something!" Sam said angrily. "Paulina has the biggest mouth in the school-"

"Bow-chik-a-bow-wow," Tucker chimed in.

"She'll talk without giving it a second thought!" Sam finished, ignoring Tucker.

Danny covered his face with his hands. "She won't give it a first thought either," he said sadly.

Sam giggled, despite the gravity of the situation. "Alright, seriously now, here she comes," the girl said as Paulina rounded a corner at the other end of the hall. "Just lay down the law and set her straight."

"No, Danny, don't set her straight! What the hell is wrong with you, Sam?" Tucker asked exasperatedly.

"Alright Mr. Perverse Innuendo, what do you have in mind?"

Tucker cleared his throat. "Firstly, Sam, you leave your sentences wide open to it. Either learn better sentence structure or don't talk. Danny, take into consideration that Paulina might not actually know who you are."

"Dude, she saw us, hurry up!" Danny hissed.

"Don't incriminate yourself," Tucker said curtly. "If she knows something, she'll tell you about it. _Trust_ me."

Tucker ushered Sam away as Paulina finally reached Danny. "I've been looking all over for you!" she said happily. "I wanted to tell you something, about your friends."

Danny looked at the Hispanic girl in confusion. "O-okay," he said uneasily. This was not how he saw the conversation going. In fact, seeing as how Paulina was so infatuated with Phantom, he thought he would've been dragged into a broom closet by now.

"Well yesterday, after you left the cafeteria, I followed you and those other two to make sure you were ok-"

"Wow, that was really thoughtful of you," Danny said sincerely. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, now listen, I was trying to find you when, all of a sudden, I saw the ghost boy floating in front of Sam and Tucker. I thought they were with you the whole time, but I think they're up to something."

Danny found himself looking into the eyes of an all-too-serious young woman. He fought with every fiber of his being not to burst into laughter.

"Well," Danny croaked out, managing to turn his attempt to hide mirth into apparent distraught. "I'll definitely have to talk to them about it. Thanks for the tip off."

"Don't mention it, Danny." The girl gave him a winning smile before walking off.

* * *

"Now class, if you'll please open your textbooks to page-" 

"M-Mr. Falluca," Danny said from the doorway. He was bent over, one hand on his knee and the other on the door frame to keep him steady. Second period was biology for Sam and Tucker, and Danny had managed to weasel out of History for five minutes. He was not winded because he was tired from running; he was tired because he had been laughing to himself so much since the beginning of the day. "C-can I borrow Sam and Tuck for a second?"

The short, stout man looked over the boy with concern, not understanding the situation. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Danny had to pause catch his breath. "I just- I just need to tell them something. Please? It'll be real quick, I promise."

"Foley? Manson? Make it quick. Neither of you can afford to miss too much of this material."

The two students got up from their desks and hurried over to their friend waiting outside the door.

"What's so funny that you had to drag us out of biology?" Tucker asked as he pulled out his PDA and began skimming through information.

"Knock it off, Tucker. You can afford not to go to school period." Sam looked at Danny, who was leaning against a row of lockers, trying to stifle laughter while simultaneously trying to prevent his lungs from collapsing. It looked painful.

"Guys," Danny sighed as his latest laughing spell had died down. "P-Paulina doesn't know," he sighed. "She thinks you and Phantom are plotting something behind my back! Isn't that hilarious?"

He went into a fit of giggling again, leaving Sam and Tucker to look at each other in confusion. "Ok," Sam said slowly. "So she has everything wrong, as usual. You're allowed to be happy that she doesn't know, but seriously, you're overdoing it."

"I didn't think it would be as funny to you guys," Danny said between ragged breaths. "But I had to tell you so you wouldn't worry and stuff."

"Well, you know, thanks for that, dude," Tucker said as he placed his PDA in his pocket. "But we need to get back to class. See you at lunch."

Danny sighed with a grin and waved goodbye as his friends reentered the biology room. When they were gone he made his way back to the history room.

"What was so important that Daniel had to pull you out in the hallway?" Mr. Falluca asked as Sam and Tucker took their seats.

"To be honest, I don't even think _he_ knows," Sam replied.

"Of course, typical Danny Fenton behavior," the teacher replied as he looked back into his book. "Now, page three forty five, section five-"

"Bow-chik-a-bow-wow," Tucker whispered so Sam could hear.

The girl looked at Tucker with disdain_. How is that sexual?_ she mouthed to him. Tucker rolled his eyes and pulled out his calculator. He typed a small equation on the device and handed it over.

**345/5**? Sam pressed the button and rolled here eyes as **69 **blinked on the screen. _You're disgusting_, she said with her lips. Tucker made the American Sign Language motion for the words _thank you_. Sam sighed and focused on her biology book. Her friends were very strange indeed.

* * *

At the Fenton residence, Jack and Madeline Fenton were hard at work on some sort of fishing pole. Jack had compared the Ghost Portal to a hole in an iced over lake. The ghosts were attracted to it, if the increased sightings were any indication, and Jack wanted to attempt to catch them using unconventional methods which, strangely enough, seemed to work best. 

Oblivious to the world around them, the couple went about making some sort of ghost-proof resin that would coat the already durable wire, making it nearly indestructible and no doubt valuable to fishermen when the Fentons decided to go commercial.

Their ignorance allowed a black blob of ectoplasm to evade detection in the kitchen area. It had taken hours for the mass to climb the stairs, finally reaching the top at dawn. It had taken shelter underneath the stove and rested to recover its strength as the family had prepared for the day. After being dormant for so long, it was a bit rusty with its movements, but it was quickly making up for the lost time. An added boost of energy had come in the form of a mouse that had settled into the woodwork of the household. It had been a curious mouse, and its curiosity had cost it its life. The black liquid slithered across the floor of the kitchen, careful not to leave a slimy trail behind it.

After escaping the kitchen, the puddle found a whole new predicament. Carpeting. Rather than ooze across the fibers of the rug and leave an obvious trail, the blob snaked up the wall and curved up to the second floor. There was a pause as the ghostly formless goo discovered the carpet was also up the stairs and on the second floor landing as well. The puddle wrapped dozens of tentacles around the banister and pulled itself up on top of the railing. A clear view of the doors graced its vision, but there was a problem. The mass of ectoplasm could not discern which room belonged to the boy. There were several doors, and choosing the wrong one could mean hours of arduous work in trying to reach the other one. Sticking to surfaces was a limited ability and it would be very irksome to try and gather any particles that were trapped by the carpeting.

Suddenly, the puddle felt the vibration of footsteps. The heavy man in the orange clothing was approaching rapidly, which is to say as rapidly as someone of his bulk can approach. Regardless, the puddle hugged the railing and altered its pigmentation to match that of the steel beneath it. As if by magic, the black ooze disappeared from sight.

"Ecto-torch, ecto-torch, where-oh-where is that ectoplasmic blowtorch?" the man mumbled to himself as he entered one of the doors. The man sifted through an assortment of gadgets and pulled out what looked like an average blowtorch. A closer examination would reveal that was not the case, as green letters spelled out the word _Fenton_ on the side.

"Was it in our room like I said it was?" called the faint voice of Maddie from the lab.

"Yes, it was," Jack answered loudly with a hint of resentment. "Excuse me for thinking it was in with the _rest of_ the repair equipment!"

The burly man was about to return downstairs when his face contorted. "Whoa, those breakfast burritos go right through you!"

The man turned around and entered another door, closing it behind him. Several minutes later, a flushing sound was heard followed by the soft sound of water pouring from a faucet. Jack exited the restroom and wiped his soapy hands on the towel hanging from the door. He placed his black gloves on his hands and hurried back downstairs, leaving the puddle to its observations.

The man had been in a room looking for something and the woman had referred to it as their own. That ruled out one door. The man had also used the facilities in another room for excretory purposes, ruling out that one as well. The black goo shifted its attention to the two remaining doors, both of which were only slightly ajar.

Not having many other options, the creature coiled its smaller tentacles and attached two larger ones to the frame of the door closest to it. With much effort, the blob flung itself from the banister to the doorknob, using its ghostly properties to stay away from the carpeted floor in the hallway.

The momentum of the blob's flight pushed the door open and sent the creature onto a hardwood floor in a decidedly girlish room. Pink walls with motivational posters dominated all four sides of the room and a fluffy, light blue comforter sat atop the bed. The blob quivered in frustration. _The wrong room_. While deciding upon the next course of action, the puddle caught something on the edge of its vision. An air vent! It slithered over to the structure and seeped through the cracks, entering the vent. There was a vertical drop that led to the air conditioning or heating unit somewhere in or around the house, but the vent also opened up on the other side of the girly room. The blob carefully exited the other side while avoiding the sheer drop off and exited into what was unmistakably the right room. A sea of clothes littered the carpeted floor along with other miscellaneous material possessions. The blob snaked over the mounds of dirty laundry and managed to reach the bed. Or would have if the last anchoring point had not given out, spilling the puddle to the floor. Its edges passed over what felt like a book of sorts.

Curious, the blob wrapped a tentacle through the spiral metal cord that held the pages together and moved it out into the light while painstakingly removing its own sticky bodily contents from the off-white rug. The cover of the notebook was flipped open and the blob looked through the contents. Pictures of people, places and things were scribbled on the pages. There was one of a man in a chair with wheels holding two guns and shooting a dragon in the spine. More pictures showed a boy with a hat holding something in his hand while flying through space next to a meteor. Other pages were filled with drawings of a wide assortment of strange people fighting each other. The blob continued to flip through pages and discovered that over half the notebook was filled with pictures of the ghost boy himself in various heroic poses. His costume was radically different in most of them and he also appeared to be much more muscular. _Intriguing._

The last page was covered in strange designs. Most of them were variations of the letter **P**. The ectoplasmic ooze committed all the images to memory for future use, closed the notebook and slid it back under the bed. After removing the comforter from the boy's bed and making sure it was safely hidden away, the blob reformed itself to look identical to it. It settled itself on the boy's bed and patiently waited. Tonight would mark the end of its hunt.

* * *

Danny arrived home at the end of the school day with the traces of a smile still on his face. He acknowledged that he might have over exaggerated the comedic element a bit, but only Danny could ever find the situation so hilarious. He walked into the foyer, but stopped as his ghost sense streamed from his nose. The boy waved his hand to disperse the green mist. His good mood left with it. Danny walked around his house, hoping that the nasal warning was triggered by the capture of a ghost by his parents. 

A note telling Danny that his parents were at the grocery store quashed his anticipation. The teenager transformed into Phantom on the spot and flew through the house, leaving nothing unchecked. He entered his room after turning the house upside down and sloppily righting it and grew angrier as his ghost sense went off again.

"I'm supposed to like short weeks," Phantom growled.

Phantom shuffled through his disastrous room in search of the ghostly fugitive. After the place appeared to be spotless, the ghost boy yawned from fatigue. He reverted back to his human form and sat on his bed. Looking around his room brought another smile to his face, as he had not realized that he was, in fact, cleaning it. He saw his actions more akin to organized searching.

Danny reached under his bed and pulled out his note book. He reveled in his own artistic abilities and finally reached the last page. He thoughtfully looked at each of the drawings on the page, looking over each and every one with undivided attention. Unbeknownst to him, a black tentacle had formed behind his back. It stretched up behind his shoulder and looked at the page. Danny snatched a pencil off his nightstand and slowly circled one of the many designs. It was the letter P, as were almost all the other doodles, but this one had ghostly waves coming from the side. The letter itself was a bit misshapen to add to its ghostliness. Danny slid the notebook back under his bed and stood up. The black tentacle fell back against the rest of itself, blending in once again.

Danny cast a wary glance at his bed before leaving his room. It was not even four o'clock yet and there were things to do.

* * *

The center of Amity Park was very busy. Large modern skyscrapers stretched into the air, ending in strange formations in the sky above. The Amity Park was almost as large as New York City and no less busy. So many innocent people lived and worked in the location, most of which were unaware that their beloved city was one of the few places on earth that once contained a natural dimensional portal to the Ghost Zone. In ancient times, shamans and other mystics from long forgotten civilizations managed to shift the fabric of space and time to allow them to commune with those on the other side. 

With modernization the gates were lost, but those areas had been bombarded with ectoplasm as a result of their gates. They were natural weak points in the human dimension, which allowed ghosts easier access to the physical plane. It was the reason why Jack and Maddie Fenton had moved to Amity Park before starting their family. It was the reason for Amity Park's unequaled revenue in the tourism industry. It was also the reason Amity Park's Huntress was standing atop one of the largest of all Amity Park's skyscrapers, the Hartman Complex, and scanning the town for any action of a ghostly nature.

Valerie had chosen the name for obvious reasons. She was a woman who hunted, obviously, and it was easy enough to remember. After a few corny one liners such as "That'll teach you to mess with Huntress!" and "Huntress _has_ no mercy!" the name was broadcast on the news and eventually stuck.

She had hoped to capture the public's praise, but they seemed to think that Phantom was a hero. The people of Amity Park were more uncertain about Huntress, as she directly instigated a fight with Phantom. Her face contorted in disgust as she realized her approval ratings would skyrocket if she was seen working _with_ him.

Of course, working with ghosts rather than extinguishing their afterlife would not be too far of a stretch.

"Vy do you keep bringing us up here?" Harold spat as he flew in from the darkening evening sky. "Ve have orders from Plasmius to vatch you, not to serve you."

Valerie looked at the condor with contempt. "You shouldn't argue with a woman who has a gun," she cautioned. "I might have Thanksgiving dinner early this year."

"What in the blazes is this all about?" Hank shouted in his familiar Australian accent as he approached with Hans not far off. "Croikey, a gust of wind blows us back five meters and you two are already at each other's throats! Plasmius has to be insane to make us toady about with an angsty human girl."

"Alright, let's cut the crap," Hans said darkly as his massive form landed on an edging of the towering building. "I'm tempted to kill you all where you stand. Or float," he added after receiving menacing stares from his comrades. "What do you want, kid? We're not a babysitting service."

"I haven't seen Phantom in a while," Valerie said coolly. "Any idea where he is?"

"No, and to be honest, ve don't give a hoot," Harold answered. "Vhat the ghost boy does is his business, not ours."

"I'll have you know that Phantom's business is my business. Go get him for me."

Hans snarled at the girl and Harold looked as if he was about to explode. Hank held up a wing to quiet them. "Need I remind you just what it is you do?"

Valerie glared at the ghost bird from behind her visor, her mouth hung open in astonishment. "Don't you dare try and tell me who I am," she whispered. "I could kill you right now, because _that's_ what I do."

"Now that we've got that outta the way," Hank continued unfazed, "how do ya think your approval ratings would fare if passersby witnessed their ghost hunting Sheila protecting three ghosts from the town hero?"

Valerie pondered it for a moment. The ghost made a good point. "Once Phantom's out of the way, there won't be a problem. I'll be the only heroine to save anyone. These people will have no choice but to see me for what I really am."

"Don't get too caught up in this vengeance act," Hans said. "Or else you'll end up becoming the very thing you swore to destroy," and then added slyly, "I can guarantee it."

The condors took flight, preparing to seek out the ghost boy, leaving Huntress to her thoughts. "That won't happen," she said as she pulled her collapsed sled from her back. The push of a button and it unfolded into the sleek, angular jet sled she was still getting used to. Valerie jumped on it, smiling as the magnetic bottoms of her boots connected with the sled's panels. Huntress flew off to wait for her prey. The entire city was the war zone, and it was also one massive booby trap.

* * *

"Danny, you're shooting at nothing," Sam said from her seat next to the boy. "He moved." 

Danny cast an angry glance at Sam before focusing on the television again. She was right, the enemy had moved. Switching the sniper for the Lancer, Danny maneuvered his character out from behind the ruined car he had been using as cover. Making a wide sweep, Danny moved to the base of the central platform and slowly crept around to the stairs.

Danny was becoming annoyed. "Where are you, Sam?"

"I got blown up by that jerk with the boomshot, remember?"

"Oh, right." Danny remembered Sam's demise early in the round when a member of the Locust Horde had sent Sam's character to kingdom come. "Guess I'm going solo."

"Maybe you should just fly into the X-Box," Sam offered as she leaned back. "You know, fly around without game engine restrictions. You could totally go invisible and sneak up behind that guy, maybe snap his neck or shoot him through the heart."

"Sorry, Miss Morbid, I don't think my special abilities extend that far. That would be Technus' forte," he finished with an edge of bitterness in his voice.

"Maybe, or maybe Technus isn't the only one with computer powers. Go on and try, please?"

"Even if I could, the GIW said I'm not allowed to use my powers for unfair advantages over humans."

Sam laughed sarcastically. "Oh come on, it's a video game! The government doesn't care about _Gears of War_, Danny."

"Also, that would be cheating. I'm not a cheater."

Sam elbowed him in the side, causing Danny's character to leap out of cover prematurely. His enemy spotted him and opened fire with a shotgun. "You're such a little liar!"

Danny revved up the chainsaw bayonet at the end of the Lancer and charged. The Locust adversary barely had time to scream as the rotating blade cut into its shoulder and brutally ripped through the other player. Once the chainsaw reached the designated point, the body exploded into various pieces spraying excessive amounts of gore across the area. Another COG victory.

"Alright," Danny said, setting the controller down. "There might have been that time when I might have had some help from Tucker on the Algebra test-"

"You mean the PDA disguised as a calculator that had every answer to the test programmed into it?"

"Ok, so I do cheat sometimes. But I use my average boy powers for that," Danny looked on as a new round started up. He noted with a grin as Sam made haste for the boomshot. Danny took cover in an elevated platform, providing his friend protection from the shadows as she went for the weapon that had destroyed her last time. "I haven't used my ghost powers to cheat on anything so far."

Sam cursed as a grenade landed next to her just as she retrieved her weapon. It detonated before she could roll out of the way and painted her screen red.

"I hate this game," she muttered.

"Finally a game where I can beat you?" Danny asked with fake shock. "Maybe there's hope for Tucker as well."

"Speaking of which, where is our brother in arms? Did he finally grow some horns and ask Star out?"

Danny laughed as he took the head off of the same person that had killed Sam. "Don't count on it. He's at home trying to rip the electrocution generators from my jacket."

"What a geek," Sam huffed.

"Seriously."

Danny soon found himself facing off against the last three opponents alone as his allies had been killed. A scowl appeared across his face as he looked at his inventory, which consisted of one bullet in his sniper, a smoke grenade and depleted ammo for everything else.

"Can you please try to go _into_ the game?" Sam begged. "You can't beat all three of them alone."

"Watch me," Danny replied defiantly.

"Just once?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Nein."

"Come on!"

"Negative."

"I'll do something for you," Sam offered.

"Probably won't work," Danny answered monotonously as he set his trap.

"I'll give you a thousand bucks."

"Honestly," Danny said while taking aim on his first target. "What would I do with a thousand dollars?"

"A million?"

"Money isn't everything," Danny said. A smirk of satisfaction appeared as the head of the first target exploded. The other two saw the shot and closed in on him.

"You can have unlimited access to everything in my house."

"I'm here right now," Danny answered smartly as he deployed his smoke grenade.

"I'll give you whatever you want for your birthday."

"Your bargaining posture is highly dubious." Danny quoted Unicron as he assaulted one of his enemies and beat them to death with his empty sniper rifle.

It was obvious to Sam that Danny would most likely emerge from his predicament alive and victorious. If he wouldn't win by entering the videogame, then she'd have to make him _lose_.

"I'll let you feel me up."

Danny's eyelids widened. He slowly turned to his friend and was about to say something when his controller vibrated. He looked on in horror as his character was blown to bloody bits as he was introduced to the barrel of a shotgun. He might have won the last round, but the latest Locust victory had cost him the match.

"That was your fault," Danny complained with a scowl.

"Hey, you could have just blown that off like everything else I offered you," Sam said in self defense.

"You, uh," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "You weren't being serious, right?"

Sam grinned seductively. _Time to add insult to injury_, she thought. "Well, you could have flown into the 360 and masqueraded around Gridlock as Phantom, letting me see something awesome. In return, you could have, well, _you know_," she traced the outline of her shirt. "In the end, it would have been an amazing experience for both of us, but you chose to play by the rules." Sam got up off the couch and stretched. "Ah, well, your loss."

Danny chuckled. "Guess so. Well, its getting late so I'm gonna vamoose. See you tomorrow for the last day of the week?"

Sam nodded sleepily. "Wednesday it is."

Danny transformed into Phantom. The silver-green rings did their work admirably, as Sam could attest upon seeing her friend in skintight spandex. He floated up off the floor and up through the ceiling, turning invisible to avoid detection. Once outside the house, Phantom turned in the direction of his home and was about to fly off when his ghost sense went off.

Phantom spun around and saw three glowing green forms approaching from the downtown area. He quickly recognized the center one as the large ghost condor that had almost killed him several months ago. Its sunglasses and black leather vest almost made it look funny._ Almost_.

"Well, look who decided to show up!" Phantom said cheerily. "You turkeys fly all the way from Wisconsin to get your feathered butts handed to you again? I'm honored, truly, I am."

"You better shut your mouth before I rip it off," Hans growled.

"Ooh, that's so scary coming from a big dead pigeon," Phantom said mockingly. "Tell me something, what's with the biker get up? You lose a bet in the past life?"

"Watch yourself," Hans warned menacingly.

"Or what? What can you three possibly do? I almost killed you last time we met," Phantom gestured to Hans. "What makes you think I'll hold back this time?"

The three birds looked at each other, nodded, and flew off back the way they came. Normally, that would have been perfectly fine, but the direction they had come from was the highly populated urban area.

"Man," the ghost boy sighed. "I would've made curfew tonight."

Phantom flew off in pursuit of the birds. The two smaller ones went for the top of a building while Hans plummeted down into the streets below.

* * *

A young woman screamed in terror as the massive ghost condor descended from the darkening night sky like a demon bird. Seconds before the girl would have become a human shish kabob, Phantom slammed into the ghost's side and smeared it to the pavement below. The boy backflipped off of his foe and fired at it with ghost rays. 

Hans took most of the hits without registering the pain. He roared and lunged from the ground at Phantom, who dodged to the side as the bird's massive talons raked through the air barely centimeters from the boy's head.

"Attacking innocent people? That seems a bit superfluous, don't you think?"

"Don't try to confuse me with big words, kid," Hans shouted. "I've eaten _babies_ with bigger vocabularies than you."

"Dude, that's disgusting," Phantom said as he fired more energy beams at his adversary.

Phantom wound up a punch and delivered it, full force, to the condor's head. Hans was sent sailing through the sky into a window. The glass shattered inward and the large aerial ghost managed to scare the pants off an entire office full of people. Grinning, or making a facial gesture as close to a grin as he could make, Hans grabbed one of the employees with his clawed feet and flew back out the broken window where Phantom was waiting.

"And now it comes to this. The public opinion of Phantom changed from hero to villain in one . . ." Hans chuckled. "_Fowl swoop_."

"Aw, dude, that was awful!" Phantom shouted.

"I thought it was quite funny," Hans said matter-of-factly. "Then again, I do have a strange sense of humor. Take this innocent civilian, for instance," Hans gripped the middle-aged man by the shoulders tighter. "I think it would be pure comedic gold if he was to plummet down from fifty stories high and do a bit of _redecorating_ on the sidewalk. What do you think?"

"I think you'd have a very short lived career as a stand up comic," Phantom replied. "But what do I know? I never was one for show biz."

"Oh don't worry, you'll get plenty of coverage after this gentleman decides to bite the dust. Well, cement, but you get my meaning."

"Uh, excuse me?" the man dangling underneath Hans spoke up, albeit very uneasily. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Hans looked down at the man in his talons. "No, no you don't."

Phantom took the opportunity to fly in and deliver a fierce uppercut to the ghost bird's jaw – beak – dazing him. His grip on the man loosened and he began his fatal descent.

Phantom was close on his trail, but he realized that it might not be enough to save him. His sister had done a study on suicide and had related the little factoid that most cases where the one committing the act jumps from a building, they die before they hit the ground. The man might not have fallen intentionally, but the memory of that bit of information did not settle well with Phantom

"Sir, can you hear me?" Phantom shouted. The wind whipping around him made it difficult to hear anything.

Much to the ghost boy's surprise, the man flipped around in mid air and was now falling backwards, facing the ghost with a scared smile.

"Just like skydiving!" he called. "Only without the 'chute! Hurry up, kid!"

Phantom did just that. Speeding at the ground faster than he thought possible, Phantom noticed that his vision was blackening. The exertion was becoming too much, but he could not just give up. He had to go faster. They were now dangerously close to the ground.

_Come on, just a little bit more-_

Suddenly, a flash of red and silver caught his peripheral vision. The blur snagged the man just before he hit the ground, leaving Phantom to deal with several concussive blasts that had been sent his way.

He hit the ground at breakneck speed, went _through_ the ground via intangibility and took almost half a minute to circle around and resurface. Phantom looked around, seeing no signs of the flash of colors. Of course, if the blur had slowed down, the ghost had a pretty good idea of who it would be.

"Throwing people out of buildings how you get your kicks?" Huntress asked.

Phantom completely emerged from the ground and took a fighting stance. "No, actually, I get my kicks out of hammering amateurs like you."

Phantom lunged forward and punched Huntress in the stomach. She cried out and was sent flailing through the air for several feet. She landed in a heap on the sidewalk.

"That's for Casper High's roof," Phantom said angrily. He floated over and picked her up by her wrist. "And this is for attacking me when you let the real threat get away." Phantom kneed the girl in the stomach again. She fell to her knees, holding the area tenderly.

"Well then," Huntress started. She stood from the ground, wincing as pain rippled through her body. "Allow me to _reciprocate_."

Phantom didn't have time to turn around. The sled came too quickly and slammed into Phantom's back. The sharp edge managed to stab through him and protrude out the other side. The ghost screamed in pain as the board shot onward for another several yards before slamming into a brick wall. Instead of turning intangible, Phantom aimed his arms behind him and fired twin blasts of energy at the board's engines. Without the force holding him to the wall, the ghost stumbled back. He dislodged the device from his back and threw it out into the street. He then followed the object, so furious that he didn't even feel his wound heal.

"You're gonna pay for that, spook," Huntress hissed.

Phantom turned to find himself staring down the barrel of a rather large gun. He saw a bright pink blast charge up and turned intangible at the last second. The shot went through him without damage and slammed into a building.

"_You're_ gonna pay for _that!_" Phantom grabbed the gun and violently yanked it away from the girl, causing her shoulder to pop out of its socket. He squeezed the weapon until it broke in half and then grabbed Huntress by her good arm.

"You like flying around the city playing hero, do you?" Phantom ascended through the night sky to the top of the tallest nearby building. "Well, I think I can fix that."

Huntress laughed humorlessly. "You're gonna kill me?"

"Yeah, right," Phantom mumbled, "that's just what I need right now." The ghost floated at the top of the building, admiring the architecture of the peak for only a moment. He hovered up to one of the four arching points that sprouted from the top of the building and hung the ghost hunting teenager there by the back of her top.

"I think this'll teach you a lesson."

"What lesson would that be?" Huntress spat as she struggled to get down.

"This is my city, and the people here are under my protection." Phantom brought his face uncomfortably close to the Huntress'. "If you try to screw me up on the job again, we're not going to be talking so pleasantly."

"_This is not your city!_" Huntress bellowed. "**_This is not your city!_**"

Phantom ignored her and made haste for his home. He couldn't wait to crawl underneath the sheets and drift off to the sweet reveries that sleep offered.

His sheets couldn't wait either.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_I think you'll all be pleased to know that my chapters are getting longer. A lot longer. This one had 15 pages on Word! _

_Yes, I realize this is strikingly similar to the whole symbiote ordeal in the Spider-Man comics. Consider this an homage to the web-slinger for his upcoming 3rd motion picture. You'll find out that there are plenty of differences between the black puddle that eventually becomes Danny's enemy and the symbiote that became Spider-Man's enemy._

_Speaking of Marvel, I believe I arrived at a permanent solution for the crossover. I can guarantee that none of you (excluding HiddenAuthor) will be able to figure out what it is before it comes up. Just know that it's going to blow your minds. Hopefully not literally, as I still wish to entertain you all. It might get complicated to do so if your heads explode._

_535+ reviews and almost 40,000 hits?_ _Im exercising the McDonald's and Burger King slogans at the same time! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially _The Halfa Wannabe, Night'sBullet, HiddenAuthor, mushroomcloudslooklikebroccoli, leadfoot 352, Pterodactyl, TDG3RD, Last Samurai Ryu-san, Tevagirl16, Andrew Laplante, darkbunny92, Skye-chan, Warrior of winds _and_ follow-ur-heart.

**YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!**


	50. Shadows of the Future 3

Chapter LVII

Danny rested his head against the brick wall of Casper High's gymnasium. The school had been called in before the end of the short day and the start of the new week to go over every excruciating detail as to why there would be no school for the next several days. Not everyone was fortunate enough to have Mr. Lancer as their teacher, though. The English teacher had told his classes the cause of the unexpected vacation the day after the damage was done rather than wait for them to hear it later.

Danny looked on glumly as the principal stood before the students at the makeshift podium. He imagined the long winded speech that would likely be riddled with large and possibly made up words, irrelevant and inappropriate metaphors and an overall inadequate explanation that would fail to satisfy even the blondest of blondes. So there Danny sat, bored out of his skull and praying that some sort of time bending ghost would magically appear and send him into the future. The notion brought a grin to his face. _If only one existed._

Strangely enough, despite his "epic" battle the night before, Danny felt as if he had woken up from a dreamless, comfortable, eight hour long sleep. It would have been very puzzling had Danny forgotten about his regenerative properties. He decided that his lack of fatigue was a result of his healing powers. While his assumption was incorrect, he was not tired from whatever the case would turn out to be. Still, that was no reason the boredom couldn't suck his energy from him.

Danny begrudgingly removed his head from the wall to look at Principal Ishiyama as she tapped the microphone to make sure the device was working.

"Class," she began. "Today we have a very important speaker. Please give your undivided attention to Miss Vanessa Masters, the president of Casper High."

Any sleepiness, any sort of sluggishness was whisked out of Danny before he had time to realize it was gone. The boy watched in fear as the woman appeared from a door at the far side of the gym. Applause was given by the faculty and the student body. Danny noticed that most of the older boys were cheering especially loudly. _As if . . ._

Danny's nervousness decreased as the woman coolly took her place behind the podium and quieted the school with a dismissive wave.

"Everyone, I'm sure you're all eager to get out of here and start enjoying your short week. I certainly don't want to hold you back from it, but I have a few things I need to say to all of you." Danny was grateful she hadn't spotted him yet, or decided not to look at him if she had. "First and foremost, the damage to your school was caused by a ghost attack. There was quite a bit of damage done to the building, as you can all see, but with repair crews working diligently in your absence, this school will be as good as new within a week."

She paused to shuffle several papers around and skim through the contents. "Ah, yes." The woman cleared her throat. "It has also been brought to my attention that there is some sort of twisted tradition where a boy from the senior class acts out the scene from the _Family Guy_ cartoon where one of the characters-" Vanessa squinted at the paper, allowed her jaw to drop slightly, then scowled at the document. "Well, it involves a window . . ." the senior class began to snicker. "That is _not_ going to happen in this school from now on, understand?" The snickering was replaced by a chorus of mumbled _yes ma'am_'s, although everyone knew that the charade would go on unimpeded. "Good. Keep out of trouble for the next month or two and we won't have to meet up again. Any questions?"

Nobody said anything.

"Have a nice vacation, then," Vanessa said with a smile.

The class hurried down the bleachers, practically baying with the desire to escape the halls of Casper High. Danny moved among them, hoping that he hadn't been spotted. A firm yet unmistakably feminine hand clamped on his shoulders as if to say it was not his lucky day.

"Daniel," she said cheerily. "How good it is to see you again!"

Danny cast a glance to his left and right. Nobody was paying them any mind, so Danny felt free to speak his.

"What do you want, Plasmius?" he said in a hushed tone. "I mean, besides my mom's head and my dad's love."

The woman rolled her eyes and gestured to the now empty bleachers. Danny hesitated before following her to sit down.

"I've been waiting to have a little chat since the last time we met up," Vanessa said. "How have you been?"

"Again with the small talk!" Danny said exasperatedly. "I know what you are, you know what I am, you want to kill me and there's nothing I could do to stop you if I tried. Just cut to the chase already."

"I never said I wanted to kill you. Quite the contrary, actually," Vanessa said. "When your little friend told you about my position of authority here, what was your initial reaction?"

"I figured it was something you'd probably do," Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You wanted some sort of strategic advantage over me. I mean, other than the dozens you have already." Danny looked around the gym and shook his head. "Well, you got it. What do you want now?"

"Nothing at the moment. I bought this school to ensure your safety. Well, _physically_ at least. I can't say I'm doing too well in the emotional field. What was your last girlfriend's name, Veronica?"

"Valerie," Danny corrected glumly.

"Ah, yes, of course. It seems you certainly know how to pick them," the woman said mockingly.

Danny glared at her. "They were both amazing, but they both stabbed me in the back."

_Why'd I say that? Spectra might have been a conniving she-devil, but Valerie needs her space now, it's perfectly fine . . ._

"Is that all it takes?" Vanessa said with a grin. "Maybe I'm next on the list?"

Danny forced a laugh. "Oh yeah, because _that _wouldn't be weird at all."

Vanessa smiled. "What about us is normal to start with, Daniel?"

"Well," Danny pondered for a moment. "We're both at least half human, we both have, uh, _connections_ to my family-" Vanessa laughed. "What's so funny?" Danny asked impatiently. "I had more!"

"How is it that you're sitting here with me in an empty gymnasium calmly thinking of all the ways we're similar when you were about to jump down my throat only minutes ago?"

Danny's lightened expression faltered. He thought for a moment before speaking. "Imagine if you were sitting barely five feet away from someone who was leaps and bounds ahead of you in power. You know that you could probably run, but it wouldn't do much good. The other person could catch you in the blink of an eye. They might kill you, torture you or whatever their sick mind can come up with, but they'd rather just shoot the breeze." Danny sighed. "I'm not going to waste time and drag out getting killed."

Vanessa lay back on the bleachers. "Well, I guess that's _another_ thing we have in common," she said quietly. "But I already told you, I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to observe . . . for now."

Danny stood from his seat. "Well, don't do too much of that. Otherwise you'll end up on _To Catch a Predator_."

The older woman laughed. "Very well, you've made your point. Go ahead and leave, but just know that, even when I'm not around, I'm still watching you."

Vanessa vanished from sight, and Danny focused on his ghostly energies locked inside him. If his conversation with his mortal enemy had been confusing, the result of his concentration was just downright shocking.

* * *

Beads of sweat ran down Tucker's face. He wanted so desperately to wipe them away with his free hand, but he knew the slightest movement could wind up in his humiliation. The teenager was forced to endure the drops that trickled from his forehead and cruelly stung his eyes. 

Tucker cast a glance at the young woman across from him. Her face was contorted from exertion of force, but she was not experiencing the same hydration problem he was. Her eyes briefly met his and she flashed a quick smile before diverting her attention.

"You – know – you – can't – keep – this – up – much – lon – ger," he muttered between breaths.

"Nei – ther – can –you," the girl replied.

Tucker pushed with all his might, surprised to find that the young lady was able to match him in strength. _I need to work out more_, he thought.

The girl's face twisted from determined to pained and exhausted. Her eyes fluttered shut and her mouth opened slightly. She moaned as the pressure became too much.

Tucker grinned, although he felt like doing the same. He took the apparent lapse in force to add more of his own. He pushed harder and harder, but her resistance was still reasonably strong.

The girl bit her lower lip to keep her voice from escalating. People were already starting to stare.

"Just – ad – mit – it," Tucker huffed.

"Nev – er!"

Tucker felt the girl apply some uncanny reserve of power, forcing his struggle to sway against his favor. Tucker's eyes widened as he realized he was very close to being denied. He pushed harder, but his efforts were in vain.

With a rather loud moan of satisfaction, Sam slammed Tucker's fist down on the table at the Nasty Burger. The boy cried out in pain as the back of his hand was violently introduced to the plastic surface. He had_ lost_ the arm wrestling match.

Tucker grumbled as he wiped his face with several napkins. He begrudgingly reached into his pocket and withdrew a ten dollar bill. The bill had a violet lip print on the upper right corner indicating that it had, at one time, belonged to Sam.

"That'll teach you to bring up abusive ex-boyfriends at the lunch table," the girl said as she swiped the money out of Tucker's grasp and shoved it into her pocket.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you made a very large error in judgment, whether you'll admit to it or not." The boy threw the sweaty napkins into the nearby trash can. "Also, statistics show that nearly eighty-five percent of all US currency has, at one point, been in the g-string of a hooker. Think of _that_ the next time you kiss your money."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Whatever, geek boy." She looked around the fast food place carefully, looking for someone in particular. "Oh come on Danny," she mumbled to nobody. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."

"Sam, that was Plasmius back there. You know, Plasmius? As in, the evil billionaire who wants to kill Danny, his mom and Jazz and steal his dad away from him?"

"That's no excuse for being late to lunch, especially on a short day."

Tucker took a sip of his drink. "She'd be a fool to attack him here, what with so many people around and all."

Sam looked at her watch. She wanted to leave soon, but the prospect of spending an entire day of unscheduled fun without Danny seemed . . . pointless.

"Hey guys!"

Sam spun around in her seat wearing an expression of relief. "Oh, _now_ he shows up."

"Dude, what took you so long? We're supposed to hit the arcade, what gives?"

Danny looked between Sam and Tucker, his face comparable to that of a little boy on Christmas day. "Forget the arcade, I've got something that's gonna blow your minds!"

The three teens left the building and went around to the back. Several trees protected any business that went on in the area private, which could either be a good or a bad thing. In Danny's case, it was a very good thing.

"Going ghost!" came his battle cry. Sam and Tucker gasped as the transformation began.

A lone black ring appeared and glowed with a dark green light. It split in half in an identical fashion as his previous process, but the results were undeniably different. When the rings had completed their pass, Danny Fenton was now what could only be described as a monster.

At least an entire foot had been added to his height, due in no small part to the waving tentacles that now sprouted from his head. His arms were massive and rippled with new muscle tissue. His hands ended in razor sharp claws. An interesting feature to note would have been the fact that Phantom no longer had legs. Instead, his lower body was replaced by a ghostly tail. Phantom opened his eyes, revealing solid green orbs that looked on menacingly. His lips parted revealing several rows of vicious teeth. And lastly, planted in the dead center of his chest, was a white letter P, warped into a ghostly form.

"So," Phantom said eagerly. "What do you guys think? Pretty sweet, right?"

"Dude," Tucker said as he cautiously approached his friend. "I don't want to sound like an idiot, but that is _so cool!"_

"Don't be nervous, guys," Phantom said as he noticed his friends' sudden unease. "It's still me. I'm just insanely cooler."

Tucker poked Phantom's arm, testing the solidity of his friend's new body. Sam approached the other side and rubbed the other arm with her delicate hand. "How did this happen?" she asked.

Phantom brought a clawed finger to his face and scratched his chin. "I have no idea, honestly. I just transformed in the gym after talking to Plasmius and BAM!" the ghost shouted for emphasis, causing his friends to flinch. "I was like this."

"Danny, there's no way you could just undergo a metamorphosis like this in a single night," Tucker explained.

"How do you know?" Phantom asked. "We hardly know anything about ghosts, let alone how they change. I'm only half ghost to boot, so we know even less about my condition."

Tucker seemed to ponder the statement. "Granted, we still don't know how this happened . . . or why. I suggest you go talk to someone, see if they can't help you."

"And who would I talk to?" Phantom inquired. "My parents are out of the question and I'm thinking the Guys in White would use this as a pretty good excuse to take me in for experimentation."

Tucker pulled at the black material that made up Phantom's new body. The ghost smacked his friend's hand away, annoyed. "Why not try Mr. Falluca?" Tucker offered while rubbing his hand. "I mean, the guy works at Axion Labs. Plus he's a freaking genius. I bet he'd help you figure out what caused your new look."

Phantom pondered the suggestion. "Is he a supporter of mine? I mean, does he like me?"

"I don't see why he wouldn't," Tucker replied. "You haven't really done anything to make him _not_ like you."

"But the man works in a high tech facility designed to build weapons to kill ghosts," Phantom countered. "That's not much for positive reinforcement."

"Look, just find him while he's in the street or at his house or something. He can't exactly call security on you," Tucker said.

Phantom sighed. "I don't know about this, Tuck."

"Uh, need I remind you that you're not revealing your secret identity? This is _just _Phantom, not Danny _and _Phantom."

The thought seemed to appease the ghost. "That's true . . . alright, I'll do it."

Tucker took a few pictures of his friend on his PDA. "For future reference," the boy explained after getting a skeptical look.

Phantom rolled his eyes, although the gesture was futile as he had no discernable pupils in his new ghost form. Phantom's expression then melted into one of confusion and embarrassment. He looked at his other arm where Sam had been left to rub her hands along his new skin in between the tentacles that defied gravity and flowed upward. The tentacles were also on the other arm, across his shoulders and atop his head. Phantom was a bit perplexed to discover that they were sensitive to touch, and Sam's hand was doing wonders, although she didn't know it.

"Uh, Sam? Could I ask you to stop caressing my arm?" He didn't particularly want her to stop, but necessity overrode desire.

Sam jolted, as if awaken from a dream, and took a step back. "Sorry." She muttered sheepishly. "You just feel all . . . I don't know, weird. But not a bad weird, you know, it's just different . . . weird."

Danny floated up off the ground to prevent his friends from poking, prodding and rubbing him. "I'm gonna take a little stroll," he said with a grin. "I'll check in with you guys after I see Mr. Falluca."

The two human teenagers waved as Phantom flew away, using his new body to achieve speeds previously thought impossible to achieve.

* * *

It was dusk by the time Phantom had completed his day-o-fun in Amity Park. He had casually flown through the busy streets at nearly two hundred miles per hour before heading to the outskirts to see if his offensive capabilities had improved any. Much to his delight, and the destruction of several abandoned apartment complexes, he discovered that they _had _gotten even more powerful. 

The ghost looked to the sky after the dust from the last destroyed complex had settled. The sun was almost completely gone from view with only small rays of light shining up over the horizon. Within minutes, the sun was completely gone from view and Phantom felt a strange sensation. He felt . . . stronger. As if the absence of light increased his already augmented powers even further. With a wicked smile, the shadowy specter flew towards the center of town.

Phantom reached another record-breaking speed record as he blasted through the streets. The ghost flew directly at the largest of the buildings in Amity Park and pulled into a vertical ascent barely millimeters before smacking into the wall. His velocity was not hampered as he climbed the wall and headed for the sky.

A blast of pink and a painful sizzling sensation kept him from his goal.

"It's too bad you pulled up down there," the Huntress said. "Now I'll have to introduce you to the corner of _pay_ and _back_ all the way up here."

"Oh, good one," Phantom spat. "What's next, _your mom_ jokes?"

The Huntress screamed at the ghost and fired at it, managing to sink several shots into the ghoul's chest. Phantom fluttered back from the impacts as the bolts of energy tore through his body. The black substance that made up his new body stretched across the wounds almost as quickly as they appeared, acting faster than his original regenerative properties.

"Why'd you change your look, freak?" the Huntress said through clenched teeth. "I liked you better when you were a scrawny little punk."

Phantom dodged blasts as the Huntress gave chase. The two enemies flew through the inner city firing shots at the other drawing many eyes up to them.

"I don't care much for scrawny," the ghost shouted as he fired several powerful shots over his shoulder.

"I'll bet you won't care much for _dead_ either!"

"Already tried it, thanks. Not sure how it works again, though."

The Huntress crouched on her board and grabbed a handle that stuck out of the surface of the device. With a pull, a sizable barrel attachment appeared in her hand. The young woman clipped it to her gun and took aim. Several resounding thumps echoed from the barrel of the new weapon and were accompanied by a small oval-shaped object. A semi-transparent black tip was built into each of the ecto-seeking grenades, and each one began to emit a faint light as they locked onto and tracked their target.

Phantom grabbed the first one to get too close, but it detonated in his hand before he could discard it. The explosion knocked him from his altitude and sent him hurtling to the ground. The ghost impacted the city street below, creating a large crater in his wake.

The Huntress hovered above the crash site and smiled as the remaining grenades shot down from the sky and slammed into the dusty crater. A long howl of pain cried out from the smoke as the grenades detonated. Then there was silence.

The Huntress maneuvered her board to leave the vicinity, but gasped as something clamped onto her sled. A massive black hand had latched onto one of the wings and was anchoring the device to the spot. Huge claws dug into the steel, stabbing through circuitry and engine systems in the process.

"You thought you could lose me so easily?" said the familiar voice. The Huntress noted that there was a strange, almost animalistic edge to his tone, as if something else was talking along with him. "You're going to have to try harder."

The girl's eyes widened as the dust was blown away by an oceanic breeze, revealing the battered and torn body of her adversary. The black creature was shredded and vaporized in several sections, revealing a large portion of the ghost underneath. The familiar face of the ghost boy looked out, only half was visible. The other half was still covered by the ectoplasmic goo. The tendrils of the black substance began to latch onto the exposed portions of the ghost boy before enveloping him completely. Phantom growled as he pulled himself up from the crater.

"What _are_ you?" the Huntress whispered in fear.

Phantom lunged forward. His massive hand wrapped around the girl's waist and pulled her close. His lips parted to reveal the rows of pointed teeth that seemed to glare at the Huntress with their own hunger. The ghost smiled viciously.

"I am the thing you fear the most," he hissed. "I torture your every thought with my mere existence, you who hunt me so relentlessly. I enter your sleep and plague your dreams. You hate me beyond sensible detestation for reasons so primitive and base that they are savage in their very nature. But at the same time, you are infatuated with me. You cannot stop thinking about me. I am in your very soul, whether you like it or not. The thought of me excites you in ways nobody else ever could." The ghost chuckled, looking over the human girl in his hand. "I am the one thing you cannot comprehend and for _that_ reason, you fear me."

Phantom used his free hand to rip the mask off of the Huntress' head. A look of shock and bewilderment exploded across his face before twisting into hate and contempt. "You," he growled. "_You!_"

Valerie stared at her captor with venom in her eyes. "What about me?"

Phantom's body shook, as if thousands of words were trying to force their way out of him at once. With an infuriated scream, the ghost threw the Huntress with all of his newfound strength. Valerie flew like a comet in the night sky, her momentum carrying her over the tops of fairly tall buildings. Her fatal descent was halted by the arrival of her glider, albeit damaged.

The Huntress maneuvered her vehicle away from the city. The ghost couldn't have been more wrong in his assumption. Valerie knew that Phantom was evil, if his recent actions hadn't provided enough evidence. Her hatred for him was fueled, and her desire for vengeance had never burned hotter.

Valerie grinned at the surface of her glider. Not only had she managed to escape from the loathsome specter with her life, but she managed to obtain a particular sample she was positive her supplier would be very pleased with. The glider, in one of its numerous holding slots, carried a vile of a black ectoplasmic substance . . .

* * *

Phantom discovered that he was on the outskirts of Amity Park and in front of Axion labs before he even knew what he was doing. He didn't remember flying there, and he distinctly remembered his plan to seek out Mr. Falluca outside his offices which were undoubtedly laden with high tech anti-ghost weaponry. 

"Aw, to hell with it," Phantom muttered as he fazed through the multi-layered steel wall of the massive building. Inside, Phantom took his invisible state, but another thought surfaced from somewhere in his subconscious. Some place in his mind he wasn't entirely sure was his own . . .

With a moment of concentration, Phantom became nearly translucent, taking on a grayish hue. He had become a shadow. Compressing his form to a gaseous state, Phantom slithered through the building, snaking from one darkened corner to another, occasionally following along as the silhouette of an employee.

Phantom found it odd that his heightened senses fixed on the scent belonging to Mr. Falluca. The man never gave off any sort of musk that discernable. He never wore cologne, as far as Phantom knew, and the only recognizable smell was that of severely faded aftershave. Nothing spectacular.

The ghost proceeded anyway, determined to find the man. After several minutes of sneaking around, Phantom arrived outside a door. Compared to the rest of the building it was relatively simplistic and normal. It was wooden, although a silver finish made it look at least somewhat similar to the walls it was connected to. A small plaque was attached to the door at eye level for the average man. It read Professor Robert Falluca in _Times New Roman_ font. Phantom cautiously fazed through the door having reformed his body and looked around.

The average looking door betrayed its contents, as the ghost observed. The room was enormous, to say the least. Dozens of shelves lined the walls filled to the brim with books and DVDs. Four lab tables dominated the center of the room, each one covered with an assortment of beakers and test tubes and other equipment Phantom was not familiar with. Strange machines sat on tables that jutted from the walls At the far end of the room sat a lonely wooden desk, this one in its natural mahogany shade. A desk lamp provided the occupant light. Said individual was sitting in a comfortable looking swivel chair, poring over several documents.

Phantom flew across the room and floated to a stop in front of Mr. Falluca's desk. The man glanced up from his papers briefly to acknowledge Phantom's presence before returning to his work.

"Can I help you?" the man said calmly without averting his gaze again.

"I sure hope so," Phantom replied.

The stout man at the desk looked up again. He placed his glasses on and allowed his eyes to focus before sliding his chair back with a frightened expression on his face.

"W-who are you?" he asked.

Phantom held up his hands. "Hey, hey, relax! I'm Phantom! Er, I mean, the ghost kid?"

Mr. Falluca stared at the ghost floating in front of him. He seemed to calm down a bit as he took in the spectacle floating on the other side of his desk. His gaze lingered on the logo that had appeared on his chest.

"Is it really, now?" the man said more to himself than Phantom. "Why the costume change?"

Phantom sighed with relief. "That's what I was hoping you could help me with."

"Is something wrong with it?"

"Well," the ghost rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not _wrong_, exactly, but different. And I'm not sure if it's a good different or a bad different."

"Well, I can honestly say that I will probably be of little help. I specialize in designing weapons meant to kill you." The teacher noted that Phantom, while lacking feet, seemed to shift his weight from side to side, as if trying to find a comfortable position in a very uncomfortable situation. "But if you can explain what is different about it, I can do my best."

Phantom nodded. He was relieved to find the man was as ready to listen to him in his ghost form as he was in his human form. Perhaps the teacher could become his next confidant. Until then, he'd stick with the dual identities. Everyone else could deal with it.

"I'm normally not as aggressive. I had a bout with Huntress before I came here and I would have probably killed her if her little sled thingy hadn't saved her."

"Increased levels of aggressiveness are usually a bad sign with anything," the man said as he occasionally went back to checking papers on his desk. "Anything else obstreperous to your life as a hero?"

"Nothing ob-obstr . . . _bad,_ but my abilities have been enhanced. Both as a ghost and as a hu-"

The hulking ghost clamped his hands over his mouth. His eyes widened and his face, with its few discernable features, expressed fear.

"As a what?" Mr. Falluca asked. "As a human?"

Phantom sighed. "I'd rather not get into it. For, uh, security purposes."

The man nodded. "So you're half ghost and half human? Interesting."

"Moving on," Phantom said irritably. "I'm pretty much stronger all around. My energy blasts are stronger, my physical strength has been, I guess the word is, augmented and my vocabulary has gotten a serious overhaul." Phantom recalled his little speech he gave to Valerie about why he thought she hunted him. "As did my word selection."

Mr. Falluca nodded. "So, while you may be more powerful in nearly every aspect of your being, you are more prone to aggression and violence?"

"I guess so."

"And this is a result of your costume change?"

Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe. I'm not entirely sure, to be completely honest. I woke up today and, when I transformed, I looked like this."

"Interesting. Have you been prone to outbursts in the past?"

Phantom conjured up memories of previous battles. "Yes," he said solidly. "But it never was so easy before. Usually it only happens if I'm provoked or I get really angry, but now it feels like I could just fly off the handle at any little thing."

The man stood up from his desk and walked around it. "Is it possible that this metamorphosis is not simply making you more aggressive, but it's reinforcing your natural personality quirks?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you said you have been provoked into acts of violence in the past. That means the anger was there to begin with then, but it just needed a little shove. Perhaps your body adapted to give you a constant shove to make you more effective and durable."

Phantom looked at the man sternly. So few words to pinpoint the complexity of his situation. Tucker was right; Mr. Falluca was a genius. "Do you think it has anything to do with this?" the ghost asked as he tugged at one of his tentacles that sprouted from his arm.

The man nodded slightly. "Perhaps." He retrieved a test tube from one of the lab tables along with a pair of forceps. "With your permission, I'd like to take a sample of your tissue. If nothing else, it can at least give me a bit of foresight into what it is you're dealing with."

Phantom held out his arm. The scientist quickly tore a small sample of the black substance that made up Phantom's skin. Mr. Falluca quickly placed it in the test tube and placed the cap to prevent the sample from seeping out.

"I'll get this sent to analysis as soon as possible. Um, when the results do come back, how am I to locate you?"

Phantom froze. He prevented his face from showing any traces of emotion as his mind reeled with thought. Mr. Falluca presented an interesting predicament. After several moments, the ghost turned to face the man. "Contact Samantha Manson. She is an associate of mine, along with Tucker Foley and Daniel Fenton. She'll know where to find me."

"Will do. I'll make sure you get some sort of answer from this, Phantom."

"Thank you Mr. Falluca."

"Call me Bob. I'm not a big fan of formalities."

Phantom quirked an eyebrow. A school teacher who didn't like the title _Mr._ attached to his name? _Could'a fooled me_, he thought.

Phantom turned intangible and flew up through the ceiling. With that out of the way, the ghost made for home. It had been a very long day and, despite the lack of any form of sleepiness, he needed rest. Thankful that his monstrous form gave way to his natural human appearance without any trouble, the boy sat down on his bed after entering his room. He kicked off his shoes and slid under the covers. A long weekend awaited him and Danny wanted to face it head on. His eyes fluttered shut, and the boy was asleep within minutes.

But the shadow was wide awake . . .

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Sorry that took so long, but I've been busy. I got the last few papers out of the way for the school year and, with the exception of one more, it's pretty much smooth sailing for me. Prom, however, might throw a small wrench in my production schedule. Nothing major, so don't fret._

_It has come to my attention that Danny Phantom will be coming to an end starting in June with the debut of season 3. For this reason, I have decided to do an overhaul of season 2 for this story. It is an overhaul that is still in its planning stages, but it is being worked nonetheless. Most of season 2 was revenge schemes by angry villains from season one and we got, like, what, 3 new ghosts for our trouble? BORING. My reworking of season 2 will still feature those new ghosts, but in a very different light. Also, the order of the movies has been reversed. The one with Freakshow is going first, the Ultimate Enemy remake is still second and Reign Storm is last. This is essential to the plot, so don't complain and such. But I know you all better than that, so I know you won't complain._

_Once again, I know this is similar to the Venon saga from Spider-Man, but it not a ripoff or anything. It is an homage to him for the third movie which comes out on the 4th of next month. GO SEE IT._

_555 reviews! I want to thank all of you who are personally responsible, especially_ mushroomcloudslooklikebroccoli, Andrew Laplante, TDG3RD, Fulcon, HiddenAuthor, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Skye-chan, lord lazy pants, Musicallity, MissMeliss4251, The Halfa Wannabe, Sapphire Wolf Master, artbug _and _Halbringer of destruction.


	51. Shadows of the Future 4

Chapter LVIII

The roar of engines caught Plasmius' attention as she sat atop the bell tower on Amity Park's church. The ghost turned her head to see the form of Valerie Gray, her huntress protégé, rapidly approaching on her aptly named Banshee Board. It had been several weeks since the ghost had given the young woman a chance to avenge her mother's death, although the girl's reasons for doing so were convoluted and her target had attempted to prevent the tragedy that drove Valerie into her current mindset.

That mindset was what had prompted Plasmius to hand the girl some of the most advanced ghost hunting technology on the planet. It was a gamble, but one that had wound up paying off. The portion of Amity Park's populace that disliked Phantom sided with the Huntress almost instantly, seeing her as the better alternative to removing ghosts over the supposed hero who was himself a ghost. If the Huntress continued to gain support, that would be one way to drive Phantom right into her clutches.

But now Plasmius was thinking too far ahead. Daniel would either join her willingly or suffer his mother's fate. At least that much was certain.

The roar of the rockets dwindled to an idle hum as the Banshee Board stopped a little over two meters away from the bell tower.

"You wanted to see me?" Plasmius asked in a business like tone.

"Yeah, I did. Phantom's got himself a new look and a new attitude. He would've killed me if it wasn't for your equipment, so thanks."

"It's yours now, dear," Plasmius corrected. "I may have commissioned its creation, but you own it."

"He also got a look at me. A little more than I would've wanted him to at that."

Plasmius raised an eyebrow. "I assume you're referring to your mask?"

"Yes. The bastard yanked it off and started shouting like a drunken frat-boy; like I did something wrong."

Plasmius scowled. "Perhaps you should lay low for a while. If he has, indeed, become more powerful, I fear for your safety."

"Don't count me out just yet," Valerie said slyly. "I managed to nab something for you." The girl pulled a vile from her ammo belt and tossed it to the ghost. Plasmius snatched it out of the air and brought it close to her face to examine it. "It's that black stuff you wanted."

Plasmius' eyes widened in disbelief. "You managed to obtain a sample of his mid-morph DNA? Fascinating . . ."

"Mid-morph?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with as of now. It has little to do with you, rest assured."

Valerie maneuvered her Banshee Board closer to the ghost. "I think that, considering the fact that it was sheer luck that I'm even here to _give_ that to you, it does concern me. Any sort of advantage you can give me is vital."

Plasmius bared her fangs. "Even if you knew what this was, it would do little to help your odds. It would most likely hamper your efforts to get your petty revenge."

"My revenge is not _petty_, but I guess I can't expect you to understand what it feels like to lose a mother."

"You're right," Plasmius whispered. "I wouldn't know what it feels like to lose a mother. My mother died in childbirth and my father-" The ghost woman rubbed her temple with her free hand. "My parentage is irrelevant, and don't make the mistake of bringing it up in conversation again if you value your life."

Valerie cast the ghost a glare almost identical to the one she was receiving. "What are you going to do about Phantom's little makeover?"

The ghost's hostile expression flashed to a sadistically amused one. "_Investigate_."

* * *

Danny jumped out from behind his cover and rolled to a stop several feet away from the tree he had been hiding behind. He brought his paintball gun to bear and peered through the scope, using the magnified sight to pinpoint the locations of the other players.

Being the Friday of the week-long break, Dash Baxter had decided to host an overnight, outdoors event for guys only followed up by an indoors event which was open to both sexes. Danny was still locked in an epic struggle during the first portion of the event; the paintball free-for-all.

Thus far, Danny had evaded detection by some of the better players via his invisibility powers and had used his Specter Sharpshooter/ paintball gun from the heights of several large trees thanks to his flying powers. Of course, always one to at least give playing fair a chance, he had only resorted to those tactics when absolutely necessary. Coincidentally, it had been necessary to do so for most of the game.

Danny's keen eye picked up on a flash of movement. It was more than likely one of the junior or senior boys. They had displayed superior speed and accuracy in the field earlier in the game, although most had met their demise at the splatter of an invisible paintball, and were worthy opponents.

The target moved again, even more swiftly than the last time it had evaded Danny's detection. The boy fired several rounds off in the direction, but instantly regretted the act, as his position was undoubtedly revealed. The forest region of Amity Park was filled with trees, and the geography of the forest allowed sound to carry ridiculously far. The fact that one whole side of the forest was barricaded by a massive stone cliff didn't help matters.

Danny continued to survey the area and continued to see flashes of movement. His target was fast. _Too _fast. Almost-

-superhumanly fast. And there was only one type of fast in Amity Park that constituted for superhumanly fast, and that was _ghostly_ fast.

Danny dropped his weapon and transformed into his ghost half. The black-green rings washed over him and turned the human teenager into a living shadow. Phantom slithered along the ground until he saw the flash of movement again. The ghost lunged out and grabbed the creature by the tail.

The fearsome head of a bear-cougar snapped around and its jaw opened wide, letting out a ferocious cry. The ghost creation of Plasmius spun around to face its attacker and launched itself into the air using its muscular cat-like hind legs, the bear-cougar leapt at Phantom, who dodged the massive, hulking front bear-like arms as they slashed through the air.

"I'm not the kind of guy that abuses animals," Phantom said as he punched the beast in the face on its second pass. "But I think I can make an exception in your case."

The limp body of the bear-cougar crashed to the ground. It began to stand up, but Phantom was on it again, using his enhanced abilities to tear the ghost's skull out of its head. When the creature continued to thrash about, very unlike a ghost with no skull, Phantom bashed it with the mutated cranium. The ghostly form collapsed to the ground again and dissolved into ectoplasm.

"Hmm. I beat it to death with its own skull. Somehow, it doesn't seem physically possible."

"Well maybe you should try the thermos next time," Tucker said from somewhere behind the ghost boy.

Phantom quickly reverted to back to Danny and took his gun from the boy, who had retrieved it on his trek over.

"Dash decided to call it quits," he said. "He wants to get his place ready for his party tonight and figured we could all pitch in since we're all invited."

Danny cast Tucker a congratulatory look. "You got the hook up?"

"I got the hook up," Tucker confirmed. "Dash said he figured it was time to expand membership in the A-List, kinda like an experimental trial period."

"And when the trial period is over?"

"I won't even remember half of these people in ten years, so who cares?"

Danny nodded. "Good point. Of course, among those whose names won't be lost to time, I'm assuming you agreed to go because Star's gonna be there?"

"That might have had something to do with it," Tucker said with a smirk.

Danny patted his friend on the shoulder as they walked back to the camp. "All we need to do now is hook Sam up with an A-Lister. I'm thinking Kwan, but, you know, with some refinement."

"Some?" Tucker questioned. "Dude, the guy needs a complete overhaul. He's almost as clueless as you!"

"Am I really that bad?"

Tucker shook his head. "There's already an A-Lister Sam would totally get together with."

"Really? Who?"

Tucker sighed. "No, I take that back. Kwan's nowhere near as clueless as you." A popping sound, followed by a sting of pain in his calf nearly toppled the African American boy. "OW! What the-"

"By the way, that still counts," Danny said with a smirk.

* * *

Valerie soared through the skies above Amity Park, watching the streets below and the skies above for any signs of ghostly nuisances. She had already put up with Plasmius and her pet cat . . . bear . . . thing, making sure it reached the woods without any problems, and was now enjoying the peace that her technological gift had given her. Flying was enjoyed by few, and she was one of the privileged.

Being so close to the heavens made Valerie feel closer to her mother. It was a harmless reverie, but in order to experience the euphoric recollections the girl had to travel over thirty thousand feet in the air without any breathing equipment. It was very dangerous, but it was worth the risk. Descending to normal altitudes brought the girl back to reality. It also fueled her desire for vengeance, as her descent was symbolic of how Phantom took away one of the best parts of her life.

A beeping sound distracted the girl from her hateful thoughts. Her wristwatch displayed the number 530, which meant that Dash's party was close to initiation. With an exasperated sigh, Valerie flew off in the direction of the boy's house. There was a safe alley way in which she could cover her sleek hunting outfit with street clothes, hiding her from any unwanted publicity.

Valerie shook her head. Fenton was bound to be at the party, which would make the whole situation awkward for both of them. It was a bad idea to go, but maybe it would also be a chance to talk. So long as Phantom stayed out of the way.

* * *

"Come on, Sam, please?" Danny pleaded with his friend. "It's just one party! It's not gonna kill you!"

The Goth girl looked up from her book and cast Danny a quizzical look. "Are you willing to take that chance?"

"Cut it out," Tucker said. "Seriously, it's just a party, Sam. You're actually invited! We all are!"

"Guys, you know I'm not comfortable with the _popular_ kids. They might be nice to us now for some reason, but that doesn't mean I can just overlook all the crap they put us through for most of grade school."

"Sam, you can't hold grudges," Danny replied. "It just fills you up with hate and eats you from the inside out."

"That black thing is definitely helping you out with your sentence formation," Tucker said. "It would've taken you five minutes to say that exact same thing when you were just normal."

"You know how I feel about that kind of stuff regardless," Danny said, ignoring Tucker. "You think I hold a grudge against Valerie's ghost hunting?"

"Wait, what?" Sam asked in bewilderment. Tucker wore a similar expression. "Valerie is a ghost hunter?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you guys?"

"_**NO!**_" Tucker and Sam shouted in unison.

"Oh, I thought I did . . . well yeah, anyway, she's the Huntress. I unmasked her a couple days ago."

"And you're not gonna blast her to pieces?" Sam asked with hope in her voice.

"No. I'm responsible for her mother's death, and I've come to terms with it . . . somewhat, and if she feels the need to hunt me for revenge, then I guess it's a good way for her to blow off steam." Danny chuckled. "It's not like she could _actually_ hurt me."

"So you're going to let Valerie hunt you, even though you didn't do anything wrong?"

"I'm hoping she'll cool off in a few weeks . . . or months . . . or years. Really, I have no idea how long it will take, but I hope it happens eventually."

"Sam, we're gonna be late if we don't leave for Dash's right now," Tucker interrupted. "Are you coming?"

"No, I'm not. I'm not in favor of you two riding the popularity train-"

Danny grinned. "You mean Star?"

Tucker blushed, but scowled at Danny. "Don't _you_ mean Paulina?"

Danny blushed as well. "Don't worry, Sam, no trains will be ridden no matter how much Tucker wants to."

"Yeah, we're not riding any trains. Danny would most likely have to pay for his ride, and we both know he'd pay a guap to get on that caboose."

Danny elbowed Tucker in the arm, but both of them were laughing. "Just get out of my house before your perverted behavior rubs off on me," Sam said angrily.

"Hey, we're talking about girls here," Tucker said. "Unless you would be riding that train too!"

"Tuck, that's a bad idea-" Danny warned.

"Imagine," Tucker interrupted the hybrid and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He made a ninety degree angle with his thumb and forefinger, centering Sam in the middle. "Sam and . . ."

"If you even add another name in there, I'll tell that girl you said it. Then we'll both kick your ass."

Tucker considered Sam's statement and recalled his hand. "Alright, fine."

"We'll stop back later for the Bowling Bonanza, Sam," Danny said as he transformed into his ghostly half. His imposing shadow form looked around the room. "And clean this place up, it's a mess."

"What are you, my father? Besides, we don't come up here for that," Sam reminded him.

"I don't," Tucker said, pointing to himself. "You two, though . . ."

Phantom pulled Tucker into the air and brought him to eye level. "Can it, we're leaving."

Phantom turned himself and Tucker intangible. He flew up and out of the room, leaving Sam alone with her messy room.

"Not like I have anything else to do," she muttered as she began to clean the place.

* * *

Phantom hovered to the ground after arriving at Dash's house. Tucker made contact with the concrete and stepped away from Phantom as the ghost began its reverse transformation. Danny Fenton smoothed out his black shirt and ran a hand through his hair.

"You ready, Tucker?" the boy asked.

"What's there to be ready for? It's just a party."

"Good man."

The two walked out of the alley and approached the front door. Danny rang the doorbell and the two waited for someone to answer. Soon enough, Dash Baxter pulled the door open with a big smile on his face.

"He-hey! Danny and Tucker! Come on in, guys!"

The two boys quickly entered the house after shaking Dash's hand and looked around. To Danny, it was commonplace to see all the high and mighty kids in their natural element. Tucker was a bit more taken aback.

"Wow, Sam was definitely wrong about these guys," Tucker said loudly so his voice would carry over the music. Danny nodded.

"She needs to give them a chance. Look, I see Star over there, I'll see you later."

"Wait, you're just leaving me here!?" Tucker exclaimed as Danny made his way to his favorite chair in the Baxter residence. Fortunately, nobody else seemed to like it. Either that or nobody else wanted to sit down.

Danny looked around and noted that everyone seemed to be having a good time, as per usual custom. He had only been to several parties, but he had been enough to know the constants.

Kwan was always the bouncer for the foyer, making sure nobody snuck off to the basement or the upstairs. Dash's mother would periodically set out a tray of snacks and restock the supply of plastic cups for beverages. Dash's father would make one or two appearances to check in on his son and see how the party was going. Dash was also reminded of the ramifications if anyone was to bring and serve alcoholic drinks and/or drugs or any kind. It was almost bone chilling to watch.

And finally, the constant Danny had become accustomed to was Paulina sitting unusually close to Danny on the arm of his super comfy chair. The boy couldn't help but grin as the girl saw him from across the room, waved and started to make her way over.

"Hi Danny!" The girl said perkily as she took her usual seat on the arm of the chair.

"Hey Paulina," Danny replied.

"So how was your paintball thing?"

"I won," Danny said confidently. "I wiped the floor with all these guys."

"If you're all using different colored paintballs, how do you know you got everyone?"

"My paintballs were the only ones that glowed on impact."

"Ah."

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was really nice out today."

"Mhmm."

"What did you do before you got here?" Danny asked trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, I went shopping with Star. She wanted to get this new necklace that had a green stone in it. I didn't want her to get it, but if Star wants to buy some jewelry there isn't much that can change her mind."

"How come?"

"Well she usually plans it out in advance, which is weird. Like, she'll go look at it for weeks before picking it up."

"Wait . . . you said green?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Isn't the August birthstone green?"

"Maybe, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Danny smiled. "Tucker was born in August."

Paulina thought for a moment before a smile appeared on her face. "Oh! That's so sweet!"

The two began scanning the crowd for the two before their eyes settled on the pair. Tucker was examining the necklace intently, unaware that his proximity to Star was making her blush.

"That is _so_ cute," Paulina said. "They're both completely inexperienced, which means that we can offer our expertise!"

"Maybe _you_ can," Danny said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "My first girlfriend disappeared on me after the Valentines Day dance and Valerie kinda broke off. I don't think I can tell Tucker anything useful."

"Give yourself a little credit," Paulina said as she ruffled Danny's hair. "You did ok, Fenton."

"Thanks, I guess."

Before anything else could be said, Danny let out a deep breath from his nose. A stream of green mist streamed out of his nostrils and dissipated into the air around him. Danny's ghost sense sent a shiver down his spine and sent him into action. Unwillingly though it was, Danny forced himself to stand up and wave goodbye to Paulina. He weaved through the crowd of students and was let upstairs by Kwan in order to use the restroom.

Danny found the facilities easily enough and locked the door behind him. Danny concentrated on his ghostly half. The black green rings encompassed the human boy and mutated him into the fearsome Phantom. The shadowy ghost shot up, fazing through the ceiling, and emerging into the darkening sky above Dash's house. There was no ghost to be seen.

"My, my, Daniel, it seems you did get a makeover!"

Of course that meant the ghost was behind him, where he wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. Duh.

"I didn't get a makeover, Plasmius, I was reborn!" Phantom fed energy into his clawed hands, smiling as they glowed with the ethereal green color of ectoplasm. "And now you'll experience the full extent of my power!"

Phantom shot forward and fired the energy from his hands. Twin beams lanced out and slammed into Plasmius before she could defend herself. The older hybrid tumbled back through the air before righting her body. She charged her eyes with her own pink energy and fired the ectoplasm back at her attacker. Both shots hit and then went through Phantom. The younger ghost didn't even flinch.

"I guess you have gotten stronger," Plasmius said coldly. "But you'll find your little power boost to be not nearly enough to defeat me."

Phantom roared and fired more blasts out of his hands as he sped through the air at Plasmius. Right before the younger half ghost could engage in hand to hand combat, Plasmius' figure distorted and then winked out of existence.

Phantom's head snapped around, looking for the older ghost. A punch to the back of his head revealed her location. The teenager plummeted down into the street below and smacked into the pavement. Unlike his previous crash, only Phantom was damaged. The pavement was relatively unharmed.

"You no longer have power over me," Phantom shouted. "I am stronger than you can hope to imagine!"

With a bit of concentration, the ghost boy disappeared from view. He reappeared in front of Plasmius and slashed her across the face with his razor sharp claws. The woman cried out as pink blood sprayed through the night sky. The four long marks on her face let the pink substance flow freely. The ghost's red eyes flared.

"You better hope so," she hissed as the one Plasmius split into two, then four copies. "Because I'm done being gentle!"

Two of the duplicates opened fire with ghost rays from the eyes and hands. Another formed hundreds of ectoplasmic daggers and sent them hurtling at Phantom. The last one turned intangible and flew inside the ghost boy.

The two ghosts battled for dominance over Phantom's mind. Danny Fenton was not strong enough on his own to resist Plasmius' power, but this new Phantom was strong; strong enough to repel the ghost woman's mental control with enough force to drive her out.

Plasmius would have been angered if overshadowing had been her goal. Phantom's eyes widened as his vision became decidedly pink. The ghost rays and daggers ripped through his body like tissue paper. The ghost boy howled in agony as his body was shredded.

The pain would have ended there had Valerie not arrived on the scene. Firing her own weapons in addition to Plasmius' attacks, Phantom experienced suffering like no other. His very body was being torn to pieces. It was a miracle in itself that he was still able to stay airborne.

After what felt like an eternity, the unbearable anguish subsided. Phantom's body floated in the air in the form of countless black globules of ectoplasm. His eyes opened slowly, allowing him to see the blur of the night. His vision adjusted and the blur was replaced by the unwelcome sight of Plasmius floating next to Valerie.

And then it all made sense.

Valerie was in a state of emotional melancholy. Rather than leave her alone, as a greedy and self centered billionaire with no connection to the girl would have done, Vanessa had provided Valerie with the proper equipment needed to track him, hunt him and eventually destroy him. Plasmius had taken advantage of the death of Valerie's mother in order to manipulate the young woman to do her bidding. She had made everything worse.

Phantom's disassembled body began to shiver. The blobs of black goo began to snake through the air in the direction of Phantom's head. Tendrils spread over his body, reforming what had been destroyed. But in his anger, the reformation process was warped. Phantom's body twisted and distorted. The once vaguely familiar face of Phantom was replaced by the disfigured blotch of rage. Solid green eyes glared at his two opponents. Logic was replaced by instinct. Human intellect was replaced by animalistic urges. Danny was replaced by Phantom.

The ghost knew the two beings before him were powerful. He knew he was probably even more powerful than both of them, but his body was still new. It needed time to complete its transformation, and that process would most likely be hampered by any sort of battle. With a roar of warning, Phantom flew off into the night sky, melding with the darkness and vanishing from sight.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Sorry for the wait. I hate school, just so you know. Classes are a pain in my posterior, and I'd be better off without half of them. _

_That aside, I've decided to shorten these chapters a bit. I think the first two in this segment are too long. I want each one to be nine chapters long, which means I can't just give half the story in the first two._

_This story has been added to another C2 community. Thank you_ dsfjr1190 _for adding_ Ultimate Danny Phantom _to __Fanfiction Worth__Reading_

_Just as a reminder, the sooner this thing hits 700 reviews, the sooner the contest winner's custom character gets in the story. It won't be much fun if we see the new ghoul only in a cameo in the remake of Phantom Planet, now will it? I'll post revised guidelines when UDP hits 650._

_Special thanks goes to_ Andrew Laplante, phantoms-allie, Fulcon, TDG3RD, Sapphire Wolf Master, HiddenAuthor, Skye-chan, darkbunny92, MissMeliss4251, artbug, DarkMusicallity, Night'sBullet _and_ slyfoxx.

**Jackassery . . . lol**


	52. Shadows of the Future 5

Chapter LIX

"While it is uncertain why Phantom has gone on the rampage, authorities are convinced that the recent string of severe injuries is directly related to the events that took place Friday evening. A heated battle between what the tabloids are now calling Shadow Phantom and the Wisconsin Ghost, which was once thought to be an urban legend, ended with what would have appeared to be the death of the ghost boy. Miraculously, he was able to reassemble his body, but the results were shocking. The new Phantom disappeared into the night, which led into the brutal attacks on-"

Plasmius shut off the television in her hotel suite. She looked at the three adolescents that had agreed to assemble there. Valerie Gray was dressed as the Huntress, unwilling to reveal her identity to Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, the other two teenagers present. Vanessa Masters had oh-so-graciously allowed the ghost to have her little get together in her hotel room while she was out on educational business.

"Well," she said as she set the remote down. "There you have it. Phantom has gone berserk. Again, apparently. The question now is how to bring him back to sanity."

"We're not going to get very far with these two," Valerie said while jerking her head in Sam and Tucker's direction. "What can they do?"

"They are Phantom's only two associates aside from Daniel Fenton," Plasmius replied. "Unfortunately, Phantom has taken the boy prisoner."

Valerie gasped, but Tucker and Sam just nodded.

"You two will be essential to get him in his right mind, although we cannot use you in the more offensive campaign."

"Which is?" Sam asked.

"The Huntress will schedule a press conference to announce our plan. She will deliver a speech explaining the current situation while I enlist some help for our efforts."

"How are we supposed to get him back to normal?" Tucker inquired.

"Let's focus on containing him first. He's come close to killing almost ten people and he's only been on a rampage for less than a day. Once we secure him, then we'll worry about how to bring him around."

Plasmius turned to Valerie. "Go to the news station. Tell them what I told you. If we work quickly, we can get this whole ordeal wrapped up by Monday."

"Yes ma'am," Valerie replied. Her tone betrayed her distraction, as her mind was racing with all the horrible things Phantom could be doing to poor, innocent Danny. "If nothing gets in my way, we'll be done here by tomorrow morning."

Valerie pulled her collapsible sled out from her back pack and tossed it out the window. She quickly followed, landing on the Banshee Board with a click as her magnetic boots locked onto the interface pad. The Huntress blasted off towards the largest hill in Amity Park, where the Channel 4 News station was located.

With the Huntress out of the way, Plasmius changed back into her human form. Sam and Tucker stared indifferently, having seen the same process dozens of times with Danny and having been informed of the billionaire's ghostly half ahead of time.

"Now then," she said cheerily. "You have been fighting ghosts with Daniel for quite some time now. Tell me, are there any that would be willing to help us get him back?"

"You mean to ask us if there are any you can force into help us." Tucker corrected.

"Oh yes, of course, silly me."

"Alright, what about Technus?" Sam asked.

"GIW confinement," Vanessa replied.

"Spectra?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"Missing, as is her father," Vanessa said icily. "I have an inkling as to their whereabouts, but we haven't the time to seek them out."

"Poindexter?" Sam offered.

"Captured by some anti-human occult deep in the Ghost Zone."

"Lunch Lady?" Tucker asked, not even bothering to pry about the last response.

"Too weak as of now. Her last encounter with Daniel left her a bit worse for wear."

"Any of your twisted ghost mutants?" Sam brought up.

"I haven't any to send. Daniel killed them all."

"Then what about my unc- I mean Skulker?"

"Samantha, dearest, you don't have to try and hide your heritage from me. Skulker told me all about you. I'm afraid he is busy with the only other ghost Daniel has ever faced. There was much more to that dragon than any of us realized . . ."

"You mean Terrakor?" Tucker asked apprehensively.

"Yes, yes, that was it. Such a dumb brute, but now that we've resuscitated him we've discovered more about where he came from. It is fascinating to say the least."

"Anything you care to share with us?" Tucker asked. "You know, in case he comes around here again?"

"Don't you worry, once he's back on his old two feet, he's going straight home. You'll probably never see him again."

"Glad to hear it," the boy sighed with relief.

"I'm not," Sam said with a huff. "Where does that leave us?"

"Right where we are, Samantha," the older woman said sarcastically. "We haven't exactly progressed from this stage in our plan since five minutes ago."

"What about the Box Ghost?" Tucker asked. "I mean, Danny being evil and all does concern the Guys in White and, since the Box Ghost does work for them, they'll have to send him out to assist us! I mean, they want to hire him when he turns eighteen anyway. They can't enlist him if he's dead."

Vanessa stared at the two teens as if they had just transformed into ghosts themselves. "What are you blathering about?"

"Oh something the Guys in White said to Danny when they interrogated him," Tucker replied nonchalantly. "He didn't get too specific, but apparently they think he's government agent material."

"More like super weapon material," Vanessa muttered under her breath. "If you can find this character, then do ask for his help. If he has been hired by the Guys in White, then his potential for power must be vast. He would be a powerful ally."

"Yeah, because, you know, he just stops in for tea and cookies when he gets lonely," Sam said sardonically. "We can't just flag this guy down in the street; we don't even know where we would start looking for him!"

"If he makes himself present, then," Vanessa said irritably. "Please make a mental note to ask for his assistance."

"I still don't know why you even want our help, or why you think we're all gung-ho about helping you and your little pathologically challenged apprentice." Sam chided.

"Valerie might want Phantom because she thinks he is holding Daniel hostage, I might want him as the son I never had and you might want him back as your dearest friend, but remember that we all want him to return safe and sound. Don't let the personal objectives of others cloud your decisions." Vanessa replied with a smirk. "Now go, and hurry. The longer you procrastinate, the better chance someone has of dying."

Sam and Tucker grimaced as they exited the suite and Vanessa flopped down on her bed with an exasperated sigh when the door shut. She took a moment to enjoy the peaceful sound of rain as it began pattering against the windows. She smiled as thunder boomed in the skies above like the pounding of an angelic drum. Such relaxed reveries were few and far between, and in these instances, Vanessa Masters' mind tended to wander.

There was a small part of her that occasionally surfaced from her subconscious during stressful situations. It was the part of her psyche that thanked Maddie for her overbearing perfectionism, Jack for his adorable clumsiness and the years she spent in the hospital in a spectrally induced coma which resulted in her formation of her ghostly half. Right now, it was saying thank you to all of it.

If she couldn't handle three random teenagers that hated her for trying to help, how was she supposed to deal with biological offspring?

* * *

Phantom sat in an alley way, slumped against a wall. His shadowy form was running from the rain that had started moments before. His ghostly tail was almost completely washed away, and his new, grotesquely muscular and ferocious body was barely a blob of its former self. His clawed hands hung loosely at his side. The razor sharp talons had drooped and melted into gooey stubs. His P logo on his chest was illegible, or at least more than before, and his eyes had even become distorted. 

The rain continued to pour down upon him, washing away the blackness. His tendrils had washed away long ago, and the black mess atop Phantom's head slowly began to show strands of white hair. As the torrent carried on, the darkness was washed away. More white hairs were present on his head and, slowly, his usual unruly mop of white hair returned. Several minutes later, Phantom's original head was poking out from the black ooze that was his body.

But the ghost boy remained where he was. The rain was not the only water on his face at the moment. Tears trickled from his eyes, helped along in their journey down his face by the falling raindrops. His tears came from realization. The realization was his powerlessness.

He had gone mad, exploded into a violent rage without reason. Innocent bystanders were mauled by his unbridled aggression. He hadn't even been under a spell for it to happen, and the results were much worse. Why had he almost done what he lived to prevent?

It was the blackness. The darkness had swallowed him whole and he was too blind to realize it. Whatever had changed his ghost half's appearance was changing him on the inside too. He had to get rid of it. He would rip it from his body molecule by molecule if it meant he could go back.

As if provoked by these blasphemies, the black substance returned from wherever the rain had spread it. It slithered and crawled and inched and rolled and tumbled back to its host. Its once warm embrace was now cold and unfriendly. Phantom tried to cry out, but the ghost creature covered and reshaped his mouth. The cry of anguish became a howl of rage, as if to tell mothers to tuck their children in extra tight and keep a few extra lights on for boogey-man. Because tonight, Phantom was out. And he was angry . . .

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Short, sweet and full of wierd gatherings, foreshadowings and teen angst. How very delightful. I'll try to make the rest of this a bit longer, but I couldn't think of another place to end this one. _

_Also, if you're in the neighborhood, check out_ A DOOMED Alliance _by_ Emissary of Honesty_. He's a friend of mine outside the Internets (ZOMG, REEL PPLZ!). See how you like it and drop him a line. I'm sure it will make his day._

_Back to business, next chapter reveals Danny's spectral savior. I think you probably have a good idea as to who it is, but I'll let you all squirm with anticipation anyway. I'm mean like that._

_Thanks for all the reviews, my friends. 580 doesn't seem like that large of a number until you realize that you have that many messages left for a story you wrote. While it pales in comparison to the number of hits this thing has, it still means a great deal to me. Special thanks goes out to_ Fulcon, mushroomcloudslooklikebroccoli, HiddenAuthor, Celestial Maiden Sukira, phantoms-allie, artbug, TDG3RD, slyfoxx, DarkMusicallity, Sapphire Wolf Master, leadfoot352, MissMeliss4251, Skye-chan _and_ Halbringer of destruction.

**Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres (ATHFCMFFT)  
-It's like a regular episode, only an hour and a half long, which is awesome  
-It makes the homies say "ho" and the girlies wanna _scream_  
-I liked it  
-Go see it**


	53. Shadows of the Future 6

Chapter LX

Jonathan cried out as he tripped over his shoe laces and crashed to the ground with a painful thud. The teenaged ghost looked up and smiled, despite the soreness in his nose. The vile he was carrying filled with a strange yellow substance was floating in the air and not splattered all over the ground. With a sigh, Jonathan pushed himself up off the floor, removed his shoes and gently plucked the sample from the air. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and continued over to his lab table.

It had been a very strenuous week for Jonathan. His research in self augmentation had been constantly impeded by his own clumsiness and misfortune. On top of that, the strange, disembodied voice of Sydney Poindexter had mysteriously vanished several weeks before the start of his testing. Poindexter had been a motivational inspiration as well as an intellectual godsend. When his presence vanished, Jonathan was left on his own.

Then again, such unfortunate events were to be expected for the young ghost, who also went by the name Johnny Thirteen. His bad luck followed him around like a shadow, never missing a beat in Johnny's daily life.

Once the vile had been secured, the ghost reached for another one, but a knock on his door distracted him and the cylinder fell to the floor and shattered. The goo that had been contained inside splattered on the steel surface. Johnny sighed and floated over the mess to avoid tripping on it. He retrieved a test tube from his lab jacket, slipped it into a pocket in his pants and threw his lab jacket on the coat rack near the door.

"It's open," he shouted. "I mean, you could just faze through it anyhow, but nobody said courtesy had to die with the new millennia . . ."

The door opened and another ghost floated in. Johnny's eyes widened in surprise.

"W-what? Kitty? What are you doing here?"

The female ghost gave Johnny a winning smile and ran her hands through her green hair.

"I came here to see you, silly!" Kitty said jovially as she flew over to Johnny and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Of course, he had no bones to speak of, but the same principles applied.

"Seriously, I need to know so Skulker doesn't get the wrong idea when he stops by."

Kitty hovered back with a hurt expression. "And just what is the wrong impression?"

"That we're _together_," Johnny replied coolly. He floated over to his lab table and looked over his data that he had collected in the past month.

Kitty flew up behind Johnny and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Do you not want us to be together?"

"No, because _you_ don't want us to be together."

Kitty gasped and drew back. "Where ever did you get such an idea?"

Johnny gave a half hearted chuckle. "You think I don't hear you on your cell phone every time you come over? You talk about how strong and how fast and how invisible your friends' boyfriends are, so you want to have something to brag about. The only thing left is smarts, and since we've known each other for forever, you think I would step up to the plate and give up what little dignity I have left to be some trophy."

"So you don't think I like you?"

"I _know_."

"What about that hot, steamy night we had last Christmas?" Kitty asked seductively.

"The party was on Geyser Peak and it was ninety five degrees out. Everyone had a hot and steamy night."

Kitty huffed and glared at Johnny. "You know, I heard that Phantom kid is single."

"Is he now?"

"Yeah, and he's totally hot."

"If you paid any attention to what people say on the TV instead of playing fashion police, you'd know that he's gone insane and almost killed people. Recently, if I recall correctly. In fact, I think he's still insane."

"Yeah? Well I bet he's insane in bed."

Johnny laughed. "Like you would know anything about _that_."

Kitty growled at him and stormed over to his couch. She plopped down on the faded blue cushions and pouted. Johnny could feel the self pity emanating from the girl. He felt guilt bubble up inside him and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have said that, it was mean of me, and I apologize."

"You better," she mumbled.

"I'll make it up to you," he added. "You wanna go for a ride?"

Kitty's eyes lit up and the smile on her face made Johnny's heart flutter.

"R-really? I-I-I've never been on a real motorcycle before!"

"I didn't know they made fake ones," he said as he tossed her a helmet.

Johnny grabbed her hand and fazed them through the floor. Below Johnny's lab was yet another lab. This one, however, was not made for the purpose of scientific experiments. The basement lab was built for one thing and one thing only. Johnny's bike. Kitty had heard of it, she had seen it and she had seen Johnny riding it on several occasions. She had never been asked to ride on it herself before.

"Just a few rules before we head out," he said as he mounted and started up the mechanized speed machine.

"What's that?" Kitty shouted over the roar of the engine as she straddled the seat behind the ghost.

"First, hold on. Tight."

Kitty's hands wrapped around Johnny's waist and her chin rested on his shoulder.

"Secondly-" Johnny gunned the bike and shot out of the ramp that led to the outside Ghost Zone. Kitty screamed in exhilaration as the motorcycle rocketed through the green labyrinths, soaring past other ghosts and lairs.

A vortex of red ectoplasm appeared from nowhere and spun in a clockwise motion. Its semi-translucency allowed Johnny to see beyond it, and into the Earth city it opened up into.

"You ready for some real fun?" he asked Kitty as he aimed the vehicle at the natural ghost portal.

"You bet!"

Johnny sped forward and grinned as the portal drew closer. Kitty's grip tightened as the bike exceeded two hundred miles per hour and Johnny let out a whoop of joy as his motorcycle passed through the swirling red vortex, leaving the Ghost Zone behind. Johnny's bike descended through the sky, shooting through clouds like a meteor. The wind whipped at his face and his shoulder length blonde hair rolled behind him like a wave. The feeling of freefall brought peace to Johnny's restless mind. He closed his eyes to take in the experience.

When he opened them, two malicious, solid red orbs glowered at him before his world went dark.

* * *

Sam sat impatiently on her bed. Tucker was busy working on a jacket that Danny had left him some time ago, Valerie was ready to give her speech to Amity Park as the Huntress and Vanessa was out trying to find some ghost to help them restore Danny to normal. 

With nothing else to do Sam was impatiently watching Channel Five Action News, which had about as much action as a tube of toothpaste. The image on the TV displayed the stand where Valerie was due to give her speech within the next hour or so.

Sam wasn't particularly thrilled about having Danny's ex-girlfriend who wanted to kill him address the public on the current situation. The Fentons, who had been notified, would be attending the conference as well to explain their plans to capture the ghost and rescue Danny. It was all a big mess of emotions, and Sam felt uneasy whenever something like that happened.

The girl looked around her room. Dark purple walls and black curtains effectively kept the room dark. The sun was shining brightly outside, which was a no-no for Sam. If there was a simple and easy way to avoid sunlight, it would be done. She wasn't about to go about it as a vampire and avoid the sun at all costs because that was just stupid.

Sam glanced over at her TV and sighed. Why did these things have to take so long? Valerie was probably getting her makeup done . . . over her mask. Such an egotistical little-

The phone rang, distracting the gloomy young woman from her thoughts. She reached out and grabbed the receiver from the base, slowly pressing the "talk" button.

"Uhllo?" she mumbled.

"Miss Manson? This is Professor Faluca from Axion Labs," the voice on the other end of the line said.

Sam held the phone out as if it had electrocuted her. "Mr. Faluca? What's wrong, did something happen?" she paused. "This is about the last math test isn't it?"

"No, you actually did quite well on that one. I'm calling about your friend Phantom."

"What about him?"

"He came to me several days ago in his newer form and provided me with a sample of his body. The black substance is, most likely, not what he thinks it to be."

"Well what did he think it was?"

"From our conversation, I assumed he believed that he had undergone some sort of metamorphosis that transformed him from a humanoid figure to something entirely different. But the results of the tests I have run . . . well, that is clearly not the case. If you could make some time to visit my office at Axion, I could show you just what he is dealing with."

"Why me? I mean, why not call Tucker and have him come down there?"

"Phantom personally requested that I call you with the results, although I don't think any harm would come from bringing Mr. Foley along."

"I see. Is there a certain time you would need me down there?"

"The sooner the better, I'd say. The sample behaves quite sporadically. I don't know if that's a result of molecular instability or some other genetic factor, but I certainly wouldn't want the sample to die before you had a chance to see it."

"Die? What, you mean it's alive or something?"

"I'd rather not discuss this over the phone. Please, meet me in my office. Just tell them you have an appointment with me for whatever time you get here. I'll confirm it."

"Alright then, I'll, uh, get there as soon as possible."

"And do be careful. I think Phantom's latest mental regression is provoking him into hostility, and he may not discriminate about who his victims are."

"Duly noted," Sam said quietly as she hung up.

She was about to call Tucker with the news, but her phone rang again before she could even press the first number.

"Yeah?" she asked irritably.

"What sort of greeting is that?" replied a familiar voice.

"What do you want, Plasmius?"

"It's Vanessa, right now, and I need you to stop by my hotel room. I've already notified Tucker."

"What for?"

"I may have found the very ghost we need to save our mutual friend."

"He's not your friend," Sam sneered.

"Fine, allow me to reiterate." Vanessa cleared her throat. "I may have found the very ghost we need to save your romantic interest and my greatest experiment."

"When do you need me down there?"

"Now, preferably. Unless you have something more important to do?"

"Actually, yes, I do. Can this ghost person wait?"

"While you do what? Cry into your pillow about your lover becoming a monster?"

"At least I have one to cry into my pillow about."

"Touché,"

"Mr. Faluca found something about Danny that might save him."

"When did he become involved in this whole business?"

"Before it _was_ business."

"I see. Well then, don't dilly-dally too long. I don't want to run out of sedatives before you get here."

Sam hung up her phone and sighed. She waited several seconds before dialing Tucker's number. Hopefully the solution to the whole Phantom Crisis, as Channel Five Action News called it, would present itself. And maybe she wouldn't have to worry about actually crying into her pillow.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Sorry for the wait. I seem to have a bad habit of doing that. I had a bit of a writer's block, trying to figure out how to get Johnny 13 and Kitty in here. But I did, and that's what matters, right? RIGHT? Right . . ._

_I'll be wrapping this up soon, as I still stand by my 9 chapter rule, even though some of those chapters are ridiculously long. So yeah, its coming._

_I'd like to thank all my reviewers. Special thanks goes to_ slyfoxx, leadfoot352, HiddenAuthor, TDG3RD, Musicallity, Fulcon, Sapphire Wolf Master, artbug, Andrew Laplante, rika195, superdork398, MissMeliss4251, Skye-chan, darkbunny92_ and_ phantoms-allie.

**RAWRHONKBLARG**


	54. Shadows of the Future 7

Chapter LXI

Sam and Tucker stood outside the Axion Laboratories building on the edge of Amity Park. It was a large, ominous sort of place; tall, dark, high-tech, not to mention covered with automated defense systems and swarming with guards. Dark clouds were forming in the distance, and lightning was visible as the storm approached.

"Do we have to be here?" Tucker asked nervously. "And, of course, by _we_ I mean _I_. He asked you to come, not me."

"You know more about science stuff than I do. Besides, there's nothing to worry about. This isn't a hospital."

"I didn't even bring that up!" Tucker exclaimed.

"You didn't have to," Sam replied with a smirk.

The girl pressed a large red button on the outside of the door. A camera was built into the same panel as the button, as was a speaker directly below it.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Axion Labs," a friendly feminine voice greeted. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, we have an appointment with Mr. Faluca," Sam responded courteously.

"I'm sorry, but the professor has no scheduled appointments as of right now."

"Could you check with him?" Sam pressed. "He knows we're here."

"I'm sorry, but the professor has no scheduled appointments as of right now."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Interesting," he mumbled. He pulled out his PDA and tapped several buttons on the device.

Sam took a step back and watched her friend go to work. He angled the transmitter of his PDA at the camera on the panel. Moments later, the voice spoke again.

"Professor Faluca is expecting you. Please, enter and enjoy your visit to Axion Labs."

Sam looked at Tucker incredulously. The door slid open and the two walked inside.

"How'd you know it was a computer?" she inquired.

"Simple. People don't repeat themselves verbatim like that. I can pull up some statistics on the probability of exact recitation and vocal patterns if you want."

"Please, don't."

Tucker grinned as the two continued walking. Sam suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"What's up?" Tucker asked.

"We have no idea where we're going," Sam replied.

Tucker looked around. "You can stop and ask for directions if you want."

"A man agreeing to stop and ask for directions? What madness is this?"

"I said _you_ could ask for directions."

Sam grinned and led the way through the maze that was the Axion building. Finally, the two reached lobby where a security guard was sitting at a desk. Upon seeing the two, he stood up and walked over to them.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're looking for Mr. Faluca," Sam answered. "Can you tell us where his office is?"

"Say, aren't you students at Casper High?" the guard asked. "You look familiar."

"Yeah, we both do," Sam replied. "Why?"

"My daughter goes there," the man said proudly. "Valerie Gray?"

Tucker suddenly took interest in the conversation. "No way. You're Valerie's dad? I hardly recognized you in that uniform!"

"I'm Chief of Security here," Damon said. Then added with a wink "I'm required to look like I know what I'm doing. So what do you kids need from Faluca?"

"He called us about something and wanted to see us in his office."

"Is everything alright? I know you two must be worried out of your minds, seeing as how Danny's been kidnapped by that Phantom character."

"Yeah, say, is that press conference with the Huntress on yet or are they still getting ready for it?" Sam asked.

"Oh no, it started about ten minutes ago," Damon pulled a remote out of his pocket and aimed it at a large, rectangular painting of a beach.

The painting moved out from the wall, rotated around to reveal a flat panel, LCD television on the other side, and then retracted back into the wall. The conference popped up on the screen, showing the Huntress at a podium in front of the media and city officials.

". . . information only reiterates what I have been talking about for the past several minutes. Phantom has long been a nuisance to the city of Amity Park. Ghost activity has spiked since his first appearance last year and collateral damage has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.  
This isn't to say that all ghosts are malevolent, however. The Wisconsin Ghost has pledged her full support in rescuing Danny Fenton and destroying Phantom once and for all. With our combined efforts, we can finally rid ourselves of the most antagonizing ghost menace this city has ever known."

Sam and Tucker scowled at the television. Damon saw this and pressed the mute button, silencing the Huntress before she could anger the two teenagers further.

"Well, she seems to know what she's doing," Damon commented.

"She has no idea," Sam growled. Tucker nodded in agreement.

Damon tugged at his shirt collar and cleared his throat. "Well, Mr. Faluca's office is down this hallway, last door on the left," the man gestured to the hallway behind him. "Tell him I said hello. I'd do it myself, but I'm not permitted to leave my station."

"Will do," Sam mumbled.

Tucker followed Sam down the hallway towards Mr. Faluca's office, leaving Damon to wonder why the two had been so angry at what the Huntress had said.

* * *

"Ah, I see you're awake," Plasmius said happily. "About time, too. I was wondering if my neural paralysis had permanently disabled you." 

Johnny shook his head, clearing the last traces of blackness from his vision.

"Where am I?" he groaned. He tried to rub his head to clear the fatigue, but found that his hands were bound together by some strange ectoplasmic substance.

"You're at a hotel in Amity Park.," Plasmius said. "You and your little girlfriend popped out of the sky and started flying around like you had a license. I . . . _incapacitated_ you and brought you here."

"Girlfr- Kitty!" Johnny's eyes widened. "Where is she? What have you done to her?"

"Oh, don't you worry about Kitty. She's safe. For now, anyway. Tell me, would you like for her to stay safe?"

"Yes, I would."

"Then tell me, what exactly is this?" Plasmius held up a vile of a strange yellow ectoplasmic liquid.

Johnny gasped. "My augmentation formula! Where'd you get that?"

"It fell out of your pocket when I blasted you out of the sky. Augmentation formula, you say? Good thing I didn't let it fall . . ."

Johnny smacked his forehead. Or would have if his arms were not bound behind his back.

"I assume you are a man of science? No, that's a dumb question. You _are _a man of science. Few ghosts even know how to pronounce the word 'augmentation'. The fact that you had this on your person is proof enough."

"What difference does it make? You have it, so let me and Kitty go free."

Plasmius tossed her head back and cackled. "Oh my poor, delusional child, you honestly think I need to enhance myself with a formula concocted by some brat? No, while this will make an acceptable down payment, your service to me is what will set you and your girlfriend free."

"Service? For what? You're so powerful, what do you need me for?"

Plasmius set the vile on a table near her bed. "I presume you know of the current situation with Phantom?"

"Yeah, he turned into a monster, went crazy and flew away. Come to think of it, didn't he kick your ass?"

"No, he didn't," Plasmius hissed. "Could he have? Very possibly, so you are going to discover his weaknesses so that I can dispatch him in our next encounter."

"Great! I'll get started as soon as- oh, wait, I forgot." Johnny wriggled his shoulders. "My hands are stuck together behind my back."

Plasmius snapped her fingers and the ectoplasmic bonds disintegrated. Johnny brought his hands around and rubbed his wrists. He then floated up off the ground with a grin.

"Thanks for letting me go so soon. We'll have to do this again . . . never."

"Oh, of course, go ahead and run away to save your woman from certain doom. Oh, that's right. You have no idea where to start looking, while I know her precise location right down to the longitude and latitude. Not to mention that your motorcycle is hidden as well."

Johnny floated in place, his fists clenched and burning with energy.

"Attacking me will do you no good, as you are not nearly powerful enough to fight me. If you flee, there's a good chance that Phantom will find you. If he does, you'll stand even less of a chance against him. Then you'll be dead, Kitty will soon follow and your bike will be destroyed. Is that what you want?"

Johnny spun around. "No," he spat.

"Then you'll help me?"

"Yes, but I swear, if anything happens to Kitty, I will kill you."

"Noted," Plasmius said dismissively. "Now please, you have everything you need to work with in this room, so get to it."

Plasmius vanished in a wisp of pink smoke, leaving Johnny alone in the room. He turned around and gaped at the massive array of scientific equipment laid out for him. A beaker sat in the middle of a table, containing a squirming black substance inside. Johnny slid on a pair of gloves and put on a pair of goggles. A glowing green tear trickled down his cheek, but was quickly brushed away. There was work to be done, and people to save.

* * *

"This substance, whatever it is, has strange properties, not unlike those of a symbiotic organism, but it is too different to directly correlate the two." Mr. Faluca held the squirming creature with a pair of forceps. The ends glowed an ethereal blue, keeping it from contorting its form and escaping the metal clamp. 

"So what is it doing to D-Phantom ?" Sam said. Tucker cast a disapproving glare at her.

"From what I can tell, the organism can exist as a living creature on the physical plane, but the Ghost Zone is much colder and composed of different chemical compounds. When it was exposed to conditions identical to those in the Ghost Zone, it solidified into a rock like state. It returned to its semi-liquid form immediately after being brought back to room temperature."

"That doesn't answer my question," Sam said impatiently.

"If you would let me finish, I would," Mr. Faluca replied irritably. "I divided the organism into several more pieces and exposed them to different creatures. Experimental ghosts that were exposed to it were eventually taken over completely and their molecular structures were altered and the ghost was assimilated into the organism. Earth animals, however, were only changed in very few aspects in order to adequately sustain the organism. It cannot survive on its own in our atmosphere, and requires a host. If it was to permanently change its host as it does with ghosts, the host would cease to provide necessary life-giving nutrients and the organism would die."

Tucker rubbed his chin. "Fascinating."

"No, its not," Sam interrupted. "That still doesn't-"

"In Phantom's case," Mr. Faluca continued, "he is being altered on a molecualr level and will eventually become part of the organism, as he is a ghost."

Sam grabbed Tucker by the shoulder and pulled him away from Mr. Faluca.

"We have to tell him," she whispered.

"What?" Tucker looked at her with confusion. "Tell him what?"

"What do you think?"

Tucker's face flashed to express shock. "No. No, no, absolutely not, no!"

"Tucker, he doesn't know what Danny's dealing with. This thing is either going to kill him or its going to change him. Either way, we're going to lose Danny to this 'organism' unless he knows the truth!"

"We're going to lose Danny whether he knows the truth or not!" Tucker whispered angrily.

Sam looked away sadly.

Tucker sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. We're not going to lose him at all, ok? But telling someone about Danny isn't going to help him either way. Telling an authority figure is even less helpful, let alone one who has authority in the ghostly field-"

"Tucker, we have to. If we keep any information from him, then we might lose any chance to get Danny back."

Tucker sighed. "If you tell him, then Danny is going to freak out. He has to go through so much already; I don't know if he can deal with someone he barely knows finding out about his secret."

"And if we don't say anything?"

Tucker looked off into space. His gaze, after absently looking all over the laboratory, finally returned to Sam's eyes and he nodded slowly. Sam walked past him and right up to Mr. Faluca, who had been busy placing the black organism in an anti-ghost beaker.

"Mr. Faluca," Sam started shakily. Tucker placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "Tucker and I . . . have something to tell you about Phantom."

* * *

Phantom peered out from beneath a drainage grating. He had been traversing the sewers for some time now, memorizing every twist and turn. It was an ideal hiding place as his new body continued its completion. It was also proving most effective in making his way around the city, although his present location might have been in a different city entirely. There were no people around at all. The sound of water told him that he was near the ocean. Phantom fazed through the metal bars and looked around. He was at the docks, but there were no boats around, no dock workers, no pedestrians, no cars, no anything. It was all barren. 

Phantom floated up into the air, looking around. The empty docks stretched on for quite a while, but with his expert vision, Phantom was able to see civilization in the distance. He was several miles away from the outskirts of the main city, but he was still in Amity Park.

Phantom looked to the sewers and was about to reenter the dark, dank tunnels, but something caught his attention. A tingling sensation spread from the middle of his spine and shot up. His tendrils stood up on end and his solid green eyes glazed over. His head tilted back before shooting forward, releasing a bestial sound along with a stream of green mist. His ghost sense had gone off.

Phantom's head jerked from left to right. The two slits on his face that acted as nostrils flared. His lips parted, revealing razor sharp teeth and he took in the stale, night air through his mouth and nose. A strange scent permeated his olfactory senses.

_Perfume? _

_**A female!**_

**Sam never wore perfume . . .**

_Close . . . she's nearby._

_**Scared, frightened, terrified!**_

**Scare? Sam, can't scare Sam, no, never! Can't see like this . . .**

_Hero, PHANTOM! I must rescue her._

_**P-H-A-N-T-O-M**_

**Save her, save Sam, save them all . . .**

Phantom flew over to one of the warehouses. Nothing set it apart from the others, but it smelled funny. Not funny like a clown funny, but funny as in different. The shadow ghost floated over to the wall and turned his head intangible. He pressed his forehead against the old wooden wall and felt his still-hardening skin passed through the surface. It emerged on the other side and Phantom took in the sight before him.

The warehouse was bare. No boxes, no garbage or litter, it was almost as barren as the surrounding area. The only thing worth noting was the ghost sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. Her head hung forward in despair and her green hair covered her eyes. Her hands were connected behind her back by bonds of ectoplasm. Muffled sobs reached Phantom's ears and prompted him to take action.

He floated flew forward silently, but his ghostly tail dragged along the ground. The ghost woman's head rose at the sound and her expression of grief melted into one of fear.

"Wh-who are you?" she stammered.

_Danny?_

_**PHANTOM! Ghost, not human!**_

**BOTH! Danny, Phantom, ghost, human, but she must not know of Danny. Cannot endanger Sam . . .**

"_Phantom,"_ he replied. _"Ghost."_

Kitty gasped. "You're the ghost boy? You look so . . . so different!"

"_Change. Big change. Ghost, not human, save you, save Sam, save them all."_

"Sam? Who's Sam?"

Phantom howled, causing Kitty to flinch. _"**NO**! Sam must be safe, must not tell her name, **EVER**!"_

"A-alright, ok, you don't have to tell me anything about her," Kitty said nervously. "But what are you doing here?"

"_Hiding from them, safe here, body not done hardening."_ Phantom looked around the warehouse. _"You, come here to hurt them? To hurt Sam? To hurt me?"_

"N-no! I was captured! A ghost named Plasmius, she brought me here! I didn't want to hurt any-"

Phantom's eyes flared. _"**PLAS**-**MI**-**US**! Evil, hate her! Kill mother, love father, hurt me, hit me, want me, kill me! Made me like this! Made me monster! I'll find her, kill her! Save you, save Sam, save them all!"_

Phantom flew around behind Kitty and tore the ectoplasmic bonds that held her hands together. He grabbed her shoulder and tossed her onto his back, his tendrils wrapping around her and holding her in place. Kitty hugged onto the monstrous specter; her hands didn't even reach halfway across Phantom's pectoral muscles. The shadow ghost shot up through the roof and made haste for the town.

_Plasmius, hurt her, evil! Phantom, save her, hero!_

_**P-L-A-S-M-I-U-S**_

**Save girl, save them, save Sam, save them all.**

_She will pay for what she did._

_**Will PAY for what she did!**_

**Before she can hurt them, hurt Sam, hurt them all.**

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_RAWR! M I RITE? Danny's humanity manages to merge with the animalistic instincts of the shadow organism. So is there hope for him after all? Well I can't just kill him off here. Not with all the awesome, tragic and actiony crap I have in store for my rework of seasons 2 and 3. No, I don't think I'm even a third of the way done. So enjoy it. _

_Reviews! HOARG! So many, and the 700th winner thing in approaching, so I will take this opportunity to post the guidlines for making an entry.  
_1) Character must be a ghost. No hybrids, no humans, no aliens, mole people, so on and so forth.  
2) Character must have control over something that normally would not be seen as threatening.  
3) Character must be appropriate. This means no offensive themes or powers.  
4) Character cannot already exist in another show or cannot be a blatant carbon copy of an existing character in another form of entertainment.  
-Entries that violate any of the above rules will be discarded.  
-Changes to the guidlines can be made as I see fit.  
-You may submit your character in a review or in a PM. If you are the 700th reviewer, character will be taken from either form of submission.  
-Character can also be submitted by winner after winner is confirmed.  
-Once the character is accepted, no changes may be made, although creator will be consulted for remake of DP episode: "Boxed Up Fury"  
Winner will also recieve the name of my alternate DeviantArt account

_Special thanks to_ Fulcon, MissMeliss4251, Musicallity, Bitchy Princess, TDG3RD, slyfoxx, Warrior of winds, artbug, darkbunny92, Sapphire Wolf Master, gatogirl1 _and _Skye-chan.

**PREPARE FOR AN OBLIVION FOR WHICH THERE IS NO PREPARATION!**


	55. Shadows of the Future 8

Chapter LXII

Mr. Faluca sat in his chair. The room was not spinning, his head was not throbbing, his glasses were not strewn on his desk and his breathing was not labored. Instead, a glass of water was held gently in his hand and his other hand casually steadied his computer chair in order to keep it from rolling away from his desk.

Samantha Manson looked as if she had just murdered someone. Tucker Foley appeared equally distraught. There were more than enough reasons why the two teenagers appeared as they did.

"So," Robert Faluca began. "You're telling me that Daniel Fenton is Phantom; that the clumsy, accident-prone boy is a super hero with ghostly powers and this whole business with fighting ghosts has been going on since the end of the first semester?"

Sam nodded slowly.

"Well that certainly does explain _some_ things," the man said absently as he took another drink of his water. "Do his parents know?"

"No," Tucker replied. Sam bit her lower lip.

"Does his sister know?"

"No."

"What about that Huntress girl?"

"Mr. Faluca, you, Sam and myself are the only three human beings that know of Danny's, uh, _condition_."

"So there are ghosts that know of his powers?"

"Every ghost that Danny has faced knows he's half ghost. The Lunch Lady, Terrakor, Skulker, Ember, Spectra, Poindexter-"

"Wait, Spectra? As in _Penelope_ Spectra?"

"Yup. Ghost trying to steal our happiness so her father could feed on our misery."

"You don't say? And who is the-"

"Look, as much as I feel you need to know all of this, it has to wait. If that organism does what you say it does, Danny might be in bigger danger than we thought." Sam was sitting at a lab table. Her head rested in her arms. Tucker sent her a worried look before returning his attention to the older man. "This ordeal has everyone all worked up. Danny's parents haven't slept since he went off the deep end, Valerie's been looking all over the city trying to kill him-"

"_Kill_ him?" Mr. Faluca said startled. "Why would Valerie want to kill Danny?"

Tucker smacked his forehead. "I . . ." he sighed, "I meant to say the Huntress."

Mr. Faluca's eyes widened. "Wait just one minute. Valerie Gray is the Huntress? Well isn't this just one big day of surprises. Tell me, does anyone _else _in the student body have super powers?"

Tucker chuckled. "Not that we know of. And Valerie doesn't have super powers, she just has a bunch of high-tech gadgetry that-"

"Yes, yes, I figured as much, it was just an expression. Now I cannot hope to relate to what you two are feeling right now. I understand that it must've been extremely difficult for you to tell me Danny's secret, but I want you to know that you two no longer have to confide in only each other. I will keep his secret until my dying breath and, as a man of science, I will always be here to assist you all in any way I can."

Tucker beamed at the man. Sam lifted her head from her arms and smiled weakly.

"Now then, it seems like we have a student to save. Let's see if we can't find what makes this 'shadow ghost' tick."

"Shadow ghost?" Sam asked. "What does that mean?"

"Well as I'm sure you're all well aware, each ghost has its own unique ability that often defies scientific explanation . . . in addition to the _rest of_ their scientifically inexplicable powers. This organism seems to have the ability to take on the appearance of a shadow. It can even change its shape in order to match up with the shadow of another object, be it living or not."

"Do you think that could be a clue to finding a weakness?"

"Only one way to find out."

* * *

Johnny ran over his calculations for the umpteenth time. If he was correct, his latest attempt to disable the organism could very well be the answer to his "employer's" problem. Johnny looked at the squirming black ghost in the beaker. It had regenerated after every attempt to wipe it out, but some methods worked better than others. It had seemed invincible until Johnny accidentally sent it into a spasm. It was still recovering from the unintentional attack. 

Johnny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes nervously then turned the flash light on.

The creature emitted a garbled cry of pain, which was odd as it had no mouth or vocal cords to speak of. It squirmed and writhed, trying to move away from the light, but to no avail. Its movements slowed and the organism withered. Johnny gasped and grabbed a beaker of water. He gently poured the liquid on the creature, but that only sent it into another spasm as its body dissolved. The water became murky and any movement inside the beaker ceased.

The shadow ghost had been killed.

"I hope you're not still at step one," Plasmius said as she flew in through the ceiling. "You told me that an hour ago, and I'm starting to get impatient."

"You will find that I was successful. I managed to kill the creature completely."

Plasmius stared at Johnny with wide eyes. "I didn't tell you to kill it." She said angrily.

"Well that's what happened. Deal with it."

Plasmius bared her fangs and teleported in front of Johnny's face. She grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air. "I most certainly will not. Now tell me what you did before you anger me further."

"It's hard to believe you didn't think of it, being so powerful and all. Imagine, the secrets to defeating this shadow ghost were sitting under your nose the whole time and you were too lazy to look yourself."

"Push it one more inch," Plasmius hissed. "I dare you."

Johnny smiled. "An inch? I was thinking more in terms of _FEET_!"

Johnny kicked Plasmius in her torso, sending her sailing back into the wall on the far side of her hotel room. The wall cracked from the collision and Plasmius was left in a temporary daze.

"I think my augmentation formula worked well enough," Johnny said as he withdrew the empty vile where his serum had been encased. He squeezed it in his hand and the glass shattered. "I wish I had more time to work on it, but desperate times call for desperate measures and such."

Johnny aimed his arms at Plasmius fired a massive blast of yellow energy from his hands. The beams connected with the still-dazed Plasmius' head and her world went dark.

"I guess there's something to this 'element of surprise' mumbo-jumbo after all." Johnny picked up the beaker with the remains of the shadow ghost and splashed Plasmius in the face with it. "There's the answer to your problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a woman and a bike to save. Fare thee well, oh harlot of plasma."

Johnny flew out the window and scanned the night sky. His augmentation formula was still taking effect on him. His muscles were pushing the limits of the fabric of his shirt, his eyes were changing from green to red and his skin was becoming a dull yellow.

A grin filled with sharpening teeth appeared on his face as his augmented senses picked up on a familiar scent. Kitty was alive, and in the city. His grin fell into a frown as Johnny registered an unfamiliar smell with her. Whatever it was, it was strong. The sky reeked of its power.

Johnny decided to find his other companion. His nostrils flared as the scent of spectral lubricant and traces of ectoplasmic exhaust fumes entered them. His bike was also nearby. Johnny began to laugh. He had gone from wimp to warrior in seconds, and that was only the beginning. With his newfound power, he would save Kitty and destroy Plasmius. And after that . . . Johnny laughed harder at all the possibilities the future had to offer.

* * *

Phantom flew through the sewers beneath the city of Amity Park. His memory of the tunnels assisted him in making instantaneous decisions and allowed him to fly almost as fast as he would on the surface. 

_The girl is nauseous. _

_**Sewers, good protection, must complete change!**_

**Cannot hide while Plasmius stalks the innocent . . .**

_Unconscious?_

_**Fresh air, do us **_**both**_** good.**_

**They are close!**

_Friends?_

_**Enemies?**_

**Both!**

_Flee! Save girl!_

_**Flee! Complete change!**_

**Protect, defend the weak!**

_Danny?_

_**PHANTOM?**_

**Both!**

_Girl is sleeping._

_**SLEEEEEPING?**_

**Bring her to surface, save her.**

Phantom turned intangible and rose up through the concrete tunnels of the sewers. He looked around upon rising to the surface and saw that the labyrinths had taken him closer to the city. He was still a mile away, but before he reentered the tunnels a building captured his vision. A strange symbol surrounding an **A** sat atop the structure, glowing an eerie neon blue color.

Kitty moaned from her position on Phantom's back and lifted her head to see where she was.

"What's going on?" she mumbled.

"_Axion Labs. Friends inside, help you, help me."_

Phantom turned himself and his companion invisible and made his way toward the building. He fazed through the outer walls and recalled his previous trip to locate the office of Robert Faluca. He found it easily enough, but his heightened senses detected life on the other side of the door.

_Three inside, Tucker, Sam, Mr. Faluca._

_**DESTROY THEM!**_

**No, stupid, no destruction. No more.**

_Friends._

_**Help us?**_

**Help us all. **

Phantom fazed into the room and watched invisibly as Tucker, Sam and Mr. Faluca hovered over a Petri dish with a black substance squirming about inside.

_Part of us!_

_**SPAWN! **_

**Part of us, must assimilate into greater mass.**

_Can feel its pain, separation!_

_**FEEEEL ITS PAIN!**_

**Dying . . .**

The three humans cheered as Phantom felt the last traces of life leave from the small sample.

_Murderers!_

_**MUR-DER-ERS!**_

**Dead . . .**

_Must avenge spawn!_

_**MUST avenge!**_

**Plasmius . . .**

_Plasmius? _

_**RAWR?**_

**She is to blame! Would kill us, kill them all!**

_Yessss, she is evil!_

_**Tear her face off!**_

**Friends first . . .**

_Help them_

_**Protect them**_

**Save them**

Phantom regained his visibility behind the trio. His tendrils gently uncoiled themselves from Kitty, allowing her to slide off his back. Her heels clacked against the tiled floor, alerting the three humans to the new arrivals.

Sam looked at Phantom in shock. "Oh my God . . . D-Danny? Is that you?"

"_Sam, SAFE!" _Phantom hovered over to the young woman. _"Protect you, save you all!"_

"Protect us?" Mr. Faluca asked. "From what?"

Phantom floated over to the short, stout man. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously.

"Danny," Sam said softly. "He knows your secret."

"_Secret?"_

_Human?_

_**GHOST!**_

**Both. Rob-ret, knows we are both!**

_She told . . . she betrayed you!_

_**EAT HER HEART!**_

**NO! **

"_Why tell Rob-ret?"_

"Danny, he wanted to help you, we had to tell him!"

"_Help? Help me?"_

_s**H**e **W**a**N**t**S**t**O**s**E**p**A**r**A**t**E**u**S**_

**Ghost from human?**

_p**O**w**E**r** F**r**O**m** W**e**A**k**N**e**S**s_

**She can't! Must save her! Body done hardening! Stronger, more powerful!**

_**A**n** E**n**E**m**Y **a**P**p**R**o**A**c**H**e_**_S!_ **

"_An enemy approaches?"_

"What? Where?" Tucker looked around the room nervously.

The dull hum of an engine became audible from outside the lab. It steadily grew louder, and Phantom's ghost sense went off. The shadow ghost lazily swiped at the air in front of his face, dissipating the green mist as he turned in the direction of the noise.

"_From there!"_

Sure enough, Johnny Thirteen's macabre motorcycle fazed through the ceiling of Mr. Faluca's laboratory. The ghost, now rippling with new muscle, maneuvered his bike to smack Phantom in the head with the back tire. The larger ghost flew back into the wall with a pained wail and slumped to the floor.

"Johnny!" Kitty squealed as she recognized the ghost on the motorcycle. "You came for me!"

"'Course I did, Kitten," Johnny replied with a grin. "Plasmius couldn't keep me down forever."

"_PLASMIUS!"_ Phantom roared from his position on the floor. He rose from the ground and glared at Johnny. _"Sent you to kill me! To kill them!"_

"What are you talkin' bout, freak? I just sent her into an ectoplasmic coma! Guess you wouldn't know nuthin of the sort, seein' as you're all feral and crazy."

"_Not here to kill?"_

"Come on, now, don't be such a spoil sport! I never said that," Johnny said eagerly as he fed ectoplasm into his hands.

"Johnny, stop that!" Kitty exclaimed. "He saved me!"

Johnny swiveled his upper body to look at the young woman. "He saved you? Kitten, I could'a saved you. All I needed was some backup," he patted the seat behind him.

"I've never been more confused in my life," Tucker mumbled. "What is going on?"

Johnny, Kitty and Phantom turned to look at Tucker, the former two seeming to notice him and the other two humans for the first time.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Johnny said with a chuckle. Kitty elbowed him in the arm. "Ow! Alright, fine. Me and Kitty here decided to go for a little ride on this piece of work," Johnny ran his hands over the bike he was still straddling. "A portal opened up in the Ghost Zone and took us into the sky over what I guess is where we are now. Some crazy chick knocked me out and I woke up in a hotel room-"

"WHAT?" Kitty shouted. Johnny clamped his hands over his ears. Phantom's tendrils waved about angrily. The others flinched. "You got a hotel room and I got stuck in an empty warehouse handcuffed to a chair?"

"Kitten, I didn't decide who went where," Johnny replied with a sigh. "I was a victim too."

"Aw, listen to mister muscle, claiming to be a poor and defenseless! And what's with this pet name you decided to give-"

"Uh, weren't you telling us a story?" Sam interrupted.

"Oh, right," Johnny said apologetically. Kitty continued to glare at him. "So, like I was sayin', I wake up in this hotel room, also handcuffed, and Plasmius gives me her whole spiel about how I was gonna help her get your pal back to normal," Johnny jerked his thumb at Phantom, who growled. "I was in the process of examining a black organism that seemed to have symbiotic properties and I accidentally sent it into seizure mode when I shined an ultra-violet flash light on him. I tried it again and figured it was some sort of weakness, but it started to shrivel up so I poured some water on it, but that only made it worse. The thing dissolved in the water, so when Plasmius found out, she got pretty pissed off."

"And you managed to escape?" Sam asked.

"I had some help," Johnny replied. His newly formed biceps flexed involuntarily as if to finish his sentence.

Kitty's eyes widened. "Oh Johnny, you didn't!"

"Had to, Kitten. I didn't have a choice."

"And now I'm confused again," Tucker said irritably.

"Don't worry about it. Now I bet Plasmius will be back in action in no time, so I think it would be a good idea to-"

"Run and hide? You wouldn't be the first," the unmistakable voice of the afformentioned ghost said in a soft yet potent tone. "You wouldn't be the first to die either."

Plasmius made herself visible before the group, her hands glowing with energy ready to discharge without a moment's notice.

"This is insane!" Mr. Faluca shouted, drawing all eyes to him. "Here I am at Axion Labs, the world's leading developer and manufacturer of anti-ghost weaponry, and there are four ghosts in the central engineering wing!"

"Dude, you're in on it now," Tucker said casually. "Better get used to the idea."

"I have come to-"

"_PLASMIUS!"_

Phantom lunged from the shadows and grabbed Plasmius by the neck with both of his massive hands. He slammed into the ground, pinning the elder ghost beneath him. His head shot back and he let out a horrendous roar. Plasmius tried to faze through his grip, but found that his own powers prevented her from doing so.

"Get off me, you monstrosity!" She said through strangled breaths.

"_Will KILL you!"_

Plasmius concentrated and let a surge of energy explode from her body. Phantom loosened his grip on his adversary, giving Plasmius enough of an opening to escape.

"I can see that negotiations would be most ineffective," she said with a sneer. "Good thing I have an insurance policy."

Plasmius tapped a button on her wrist. Phantom, having recovered from his shock, wasted no time in grabbing the female by her arm. His large hands squeezed her wrist and the device was crushed instantly. However, its signal had gone through.

"_Hungry . . ."_ Phantom opened his mouth slowly. A long, forked tongue slithered out and crept along Plasmius' face causing her to flinch. _"DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!"_

Phantom's jaw hyper extended, opening wide enough to engulf Plasmius' entire head. Before he could carry out his victory, an explosion shook the building, sending both attackers to the ground.

"'Bout time you showed up," Valerie said coolly from her Banshee Board. A grenade was held in one hand and a rifle was firmly grasped in the other. "Been waiting a long time for this."

Phantom looked from Valerie to Plasmius. His options were limited, as attacking one enemy left him open to an attack by the other. A blast of yellow energy helped with one threat as Valerie was sent flying from her board thanks to Johnny Thirteen.

"She Devil's all yours, spooky," Johnny said as his bike sped into the air. Valerie growled and hopped on her Banshee Board, ignoring Phantom in her fit of rage, and gave chase to the cycling specter.

Phantom charged at Plasmius, but suddenly found himself facing four. Her old trick barely saved her in their last encounter and Phantom was convinced that it would do little to stop him in this battle.

The copies spread out, firing at Phantom from a distance. He nimbly dodged these attacks and the ones that hit did little to hurt him. The shadow ghost closed in on the nearest copy, slashing out with his claws. Plasmius tried to counter, but Phantom tore into her defenses. The duplicate dissolved after a short bout and Phantom closed in on the next copy.

* * *

Sam, Tucker, Mr. Faluca and Kitty watched from the far corner of the lab. 

"How is it that security hasn't gotten here yet?" Tucker asked. "With all the commotion you think somebody would've come to check it out. Especially with the hole Valerie made in the roof."

"Almost all of the defenses are automated and controlled by the central computer," Mr. Faluca explained. "There might be a glitch in the system, but that seems highly unlikely."

Tucker chuckled nervously. "Actually, and you're not going to believe this, but it might not be all that farfetched-"

"LOOK OUT!" Sam cried, cutting Tucker off from his uneasy explanation. A pink beam of energy impacted against the ceiling above them. The explosion sent a considerable amount of debris down upon the four beings huddled in the corner.

* * *

Phantom looked on in horror as Plasmius' beam sailed over his shoulder and smashed into the wall above Kitty and the three humans. They were covered by the shower of rubble. 

Phantom spun around and glared at the remaining Plasmius. The other three had been easily dispatched.

"Well isn't that a shame," Plasmius said with a grin. "The only three people who knew what you are now lie dead beneath a pile of drywall and bricks and whatever else buildings are made of."

Phantom howled and shot at Plasmius. In his rage, his body flickered and disappeared, only to reappear an inch in front of Plasmius' face. His claws flew forward and his right hand sliced across cheek. The ghost, caught off guard, spun around, spraying blood and saliva from her mouth. Phantom landed a direct blow to her abdomen, making a new hole in Mr. Faluca's roof as Plasmius was sent flying out of his office. The enraged shadow ghost pursued, never relenting as he pressed his attack.

Plasmius managed to catch a glimpse of the large building that was Axion Labs as she sailed through the air, carried through the night sky by the momentum in Phantom's punch. The entire building was now surrounded by what appeared to be Guys In White agents. Maybe that could be used to her advantage.

But she was never able to make a plan as Phantom caught up with her and began to viciously assault her. A blow that would shatter concrete connected with her back between her shoulder blades. Another punch of equal force slammed into her side. Plasmius fired a ghost ray, but Phantom barely flinched as it sliced through his chest and exited out of his back. The wound sealed over itself while Phantom wrapped his tail around Plasmius' neck. He brought her face up to his own grotesque one and hissed.

"_You took them all from me. I wanted to protect them, save them."_

Plasmius struggled against Phantom's grasp. His tail felt like a steel cord wrapped around her neck.

"_Now I take you!"_

Phantom raised his fist and began to charge it full of ectoplasmic energy. It glowed bright green against the deep blue sky.

Suddenly, a bright blue light shone from somewhere below. It stopped on Phantom's fist and the ghost howled as the green orb winked out of existence and his hand began to melt. Plasmius' mouth curved into a wicked smile as she realized what had taken place. Meanwhile, Phantom found himself glaring down at a peculiarly colored and modified RV. Even from his height, Phantom could see a megaphone extend from the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle.

"Return our son to us immediately!" shouted the distraught voice of Maddie Fenton.

Phantom growled, but his reply was cut short as a glowing, pink fist slammed into his stomach. Plasmius once again multiplied into four copies and pressed her attack, using Phantom's temporary inactivity to her advantage.

Phantom regained his senses and retaliated, blocking punches and kicks sent his way by the two duplicates that applied more physical violence than the other two. He grabbed one copy by the ankle and swung her into the other bodily attacking one. They both exploded in a pink cloud. The other two continued to fire ectoplasmic beams, discs, orbs and whatever else the woman ghost could conjure up.

Phantom swerved around most of the attacks. The ones that made contact did little to slow him down. He flew towards the nearest of the two, but the copy exploded before Phantom could attack.

"Sorry dude," Johnny called as his bike continued on its way. Pink smoke trailed from the front of the vehicle, indicating the point where his bike had impacted the duplicate.

Phantom grunted his acknowledgement and was turned his attention to the remaining Plasmius. She smiled as another beam of blue light shot up from the ground and washed over him.

"You cannot win, Daniel!" Plasmius said. Her tone betrayed her exhaustion. "Victory . . . is mine once again!"

The black substance peeled away from the light, exposing the half ghost child beneath him. Plasmius fired a beam of energy into his chest and grabbed the other end like a rope. Phantom began to slide out of the ultra-violet light, allowing the shadow organism to close over the patch it had uncovered.

"Valerie!" Plasmius called in despair.

"What's wrong?" the girl called as she pursued Johnny Thirteen. Two missiles disengaged themselves from her Banshee Board and tracked the ghost's bike.

"If the Fenton's move the spotlight away from Phantom, he'll escape!" Plasmius cried as she struggled to keep Phantom on the end of her rope. "Go and tell them to keep it trained on him no matter what!"

"I'm a little busy right now," she shouted as one of her own missiles was swatted back in her direction.

"Then switch places!"

"What?"

"Come hold Phantom in place!"

"Are you insane?!"

Plasmius sighed while fought to keep her hold on Phantom. Despite her weakened state, two more versions of herself appeared on either side of her. One of them flew off after Johnny and the other one helped hold Phantom in place by firing another ectoplasmic rope into his chest. Valerie saw the new Plasmius come in and engage Johnny, leaving her to inform the Fentons of the situation.

"_Cannot stop me!"_ Phantom howled. The light was beginning to burn the shadow ghost surrounding Phantom. Smoke drifted from his body in the oceanic breeze. _"Destroy you!"_

"Haven't you done enough of that, Daniel?" Plasmius replied through clenched teeth. "In the short time since your transformation, you've almost killed ten people, you leveled part of the city and now you're destroying yourself."

"_NOT LIKE YOU!"_

"No, you aren't. I am in control of my power whereas your power has taken control of you."

Phantom trashed against his restraints, but his mind was much busier than his body.

_s**H**e **I**s **A**n**O**t**H**e**R** w**H**o **W**i**S**h**E**s **T**o **D**e**S**t**R**o**Y** m**E**_

**To separate us?**

_**Y**e**S**, t**O** s**H**e**D** y**O**u **O**f **Y**o**U**r **P**o**W**e**R**, t**O** l**E**a**V**e **Y**o**U** w**E**a**K**, v**U**l**N**e**R**a**B**l**E**_

**Shed me of . . . hate! Evil! Darkness!**

_n**O**!_

**Yes! You made me evil! Dark, menace! **

_**I **m**A**d**E** y**O**u **S**t**R**o**N**g_

**You made me not me!**

_y**O**u **A**n**D** i **A**r**E** o**N**e!_

**NEVER!**

_**ALWAYS!**_

Phantom began to claw at his own body, ripping the black shadow ghost off of his form. Plasmius watched in fascination, wondering if the light was making him act in such a way. In a sense, it was.

_

* * *

_

Valerie hovered down in front of the Fenton RV. The two occupants looked out either window and cast her puzzled looks. Each one appeared weary and drained, as would any parent if their child was captured by the infamous ghost boy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, you need to keep that light trained on Phantom as best you can," Valerie explained.

"What do you think we're doing?" Jack replied irritably. "How else is the Wisconsin Ghost going to defeat him?"

"She can hardly hold her own against him. The light, though, something about the light is weakening him. I don't understand how, but it must be if she wants it aimed at him so badly."

"We'll do our best, young lady," Maddie said kindly. "And please, if you find Danny before we do, bring him back to us."

"Will do, Mrs. Fenton," Valerie replied sadly. She wasn't expecting to find Danny given Phantom's current state. If she did . . . she shuddered to think of what would be left.

Johnny decided at that moment to sail by at impossible speeds on his motorcycle. Valerie, not missing a beat, grabbed her board and took off in pursuit. Maddie and Jack traded downcast glances before resuming their task of keeping Phantom in the spotlight.

* * *

Johnny looked at Phantom as he got closer. The ghost looked like he was trying to rip himself apart. 

"I guess that's the only way anyone could beat him," the ghost mumbled. "Hardly anyone else could touch him."

His train of thought was interrupted as a grenade exploded barely inches from his face. The blast sent him flying from his bike, which began a destructive descent down to the streets below. Johnny righted himself in the air and growled as his bike crashed in the midst of the GIW barricade below. No doubt it would be confiscated.

"You little brat!" Johnny shouted as Valerie made a pass. He fired his yellow ghost rays, but the Huntress easily dodged them. "Guess I should work on my aim if I'm going to call people names." He rubbed his chin as Valerie made a wide turn some distance off in preparation for another run at him. "Aw, to hell with it. HIT ME IF YOU CAN, TWERP!"

"Twerp?" Valerie shouted as she fired another pair of missiles. "I've heard better insults from a cartoon!"

"We'll see if you live long enough to watch any more of them!"

"Ooooh! I'm so scared! Oh wait that's you!"

Johnny was about to retort when her remembered the missiles. His eyes widened as they grew closer. "Damn it," he sighed as both of them exploded on contact with his chest.

Valerie grinned as the smoking body of Johnny Thirteen fell from the sky, carried by the momentum of the explosion into the woodland area behind Axion Labs. There would be time to deal with him later. There were bigger issues to deal with presently.

* * *

Jackson and Michael stood over the motorcycle that had fallen from the sky. It was damaged beyond repair, but that didn't stop the technicians from tearing it apart to examine its components within seconds. All that remained was a decorative steel skull. The silver metal depicted the skull's jaw opened wide to reveal a bulb encased inside. 

"Agent 616," Jackson called to one of the technicians. "What is this?"

"Some sort of light fixture," he said dismissively. "Nothing spectacular."

"I beg to differ," Mike mumbled as he grasped it with both hands and hoisted it up to waist level. "This thing weighs a ton!"

"No, you just need to work out more," Jackson scoffed as he took the fixture from his partner. His face contorted before he set the light back on the ground. "Ok, ok, it is heavy. 616, can you tell me what kind of light this is?" Jackson asked. He pretended not to notice the smirk Mike was giving him.

"UV, sir," the blonde haired man replied in a distracted tone. "Strangely enough, it's the same kind of light the Fentons are shining on Phantom."

The two agents looked up at Phantom as he tried to tear himself apart with his own hands.

"You think the light could be why he's behaving that way?" Mike asked as he inspected the light from the motorcycle.

"Probably. I'd need a sample to be sure, but since we know that's not going to happen, I think it's a safe bet to say that the UV rays are making him spasm like that."

Jackson maneuvered the light on the ground and aimed it up at Phantom, careful to not try and lift the object. Mike examined the circuitry on the back.

"Didn't seem to break in the fall. Guess we have the metal casing to thank for"- the light suddenly flared up and shot out into the darkness. "Whoa! There we go!" the Caucasian man held the wires in his fingers together while Jackson steadied the beam.

"Sir," an underling called from a computer console. "Phantom's core energy levels are peaking! Discharge of ectoplasmic energy is imminent!"

"What's the reading?" Mike called out.

"Level six point five!"

"Oh man," Jackson mumbled as he kept the light trained on Phantom. "Get the radiation shielding online! I want this whole perimeter covered within the minute, understand!"

"Yes sir!" came the chorus of replies.

"Hang in there, kid," Jackson said to himself. "Hang in there."

* * *

Phantom's spasms doubled as a second light from an unknown source impacted the back of his body. He no longer tried to tear the shadow organism away from his body, as the light seemed to be doing an excellent job of that. 

Deep beneath the animalistic shadow ghost, Danny Fenton's consciousness surfaced. The exposed portions of Phantom's body began to glow green. The glow intensified with each passing second until Phantom's body pulsated with the ectoplasmic power inside him. Phantom slowly stopped seizing as the pulsations became brighter and larger. The pauses between power surges grew longer. The silver-green energy retracted into his body and remained pent up for a full five seconds before it was loosed from his body in a violent explosion.

* * *

Plasmius looked on in fascination as the explosion rippled through the air. The blast laid into her, and she smiled before disappearing in a cloud of pink smoke. 

"Beautiful."

* * *

Agent X stood at the back of the barricade of his agents. The reflective blue energy shield, raised courtesy of Agent 089, was doing its job to the tee as ectoplasmic radiation bombarded the area. Those behind the protective shield were saved from contamination and the massive shockwave that followed. Agent X pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and grinned. 

"Superb."

* * *

The remains of the shadow ghost fell from the sky, splattering into the ground at an accelerated force thanks to the ecto-surge from Phantom. Severely weakened by its attack, the organism silently lamented the loss of such power. Creeping silently along the ground, its tendrils bumped into a mass blocking its path. The organism crawled over the obstruction, recognizing it as the ghost on the vehicle that aided him in battle. Its hopes of forming a physical bond were shattered as the tendrils felt around and inside of the gaping hole that tore through the ghost's chest. 

Realizing its current predicament, however, the shadow ghost submitted to its own helplessness. It would die, just like the ghost in front of him if a suitable host was not found. The organism crawled up onto the ghost's body and poured itself into his wound. The shadow quickly filled in the hole where Johnny Thirteen's heart had been. The two bonded and Johnny's eyes flickered open. He was instantly aware of the other, as it was aware of him. Johnny stood to his feet and looked down at the ground. Even in the night sky, the ground beneath Johnny's feet was darker. The ghost smiled . . . at his shadow.

"Magnificent."

* * *

Phantom's eyes snapped open. He screamed at the feeling of falling from a great height. Once he realized that he was not dreaming, his screams continued. Momentarily unaware of his ability to fly, Phantom continued his fatal descent to the ground, but something grabbed his ankle at the last second. 

"There's no way on earth or wherever you come from that I'd let you die without knowing I was responsible," Valerie said in a tone colder than ice.

Phantom failed to reply as he was thrown onto a roof top. Unable to move, Phantom could only watch as Valerie circled around and fired a missile at him.

"Good-bye and good-"

The missile was shot in mid flight by a blue beam of energy. Valerie cried out and shielded her face as her Banshee Board took her through the cloud of smoke and debris. She opened her eyes to find two man in white suits and sunglasses standing on either side of Phantom's body. One of them held a rifle, the barrel of which was still smoking.

"In accordance with Article Thirteen of the Guys In White Handbook, Phantom is under government protection," the rifleman declared. "Continuation of current assault will result in retaliatory fire, arrest, imprisonment or death. Stand down."

Valerie shouted in anger. "We'll meet again, Phantom. Count on it."

Phantom looked at Jackson as the man lowered his weapon and Mike as he said something inaudible into his communication device.

_Finally, some peace and quiet_, he thought.

_For Danny?_

_**For Phantom?**_

The ghost hybrid smiled weakly as his eyes fluttered shut.

**For both.**

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Wow, what a doozy! Took me long enough. Over 5000 words and about 20 pages in MS Word, for those of you who like numbers._

_What happened to Sam, Tucker, Mr. Faluca and Kitty? What happened to Plasmius? What's going to happen to Johnny? The Fentons? How'd the GIW manage to assemble an army outside Axion in under five minutes? These are all excellent questions, and I can't wait until someone answers them . . . oh, wait. Nevermind._

_In further news, up-and-coming FF.N__Newspaper has decided to do an article on my story. I gave _LostInHyrule_ an interview after he said another author recommended an article be done on UDP. I'm not sure if this has any credibility or substance, and I'm not completely convinced it was _not_ an attempt to divulge information from me in order for someone else to claim my work as his/her own. If that's the case, then this story goes bye-bye along with my account and the thief can sit on 1/20 (one twentieth) of a story and hope to make something from it_ coughunlikelycough. _If it is legitimate, then you should definitely check it out when it goes public. LIH and affiliates, sorry for the skepticism, but this _is _the internet._

_Still have another chapter to go in order to wrap this segment up._

_Almost at the 700th review! I'd like to thank everyone who has left an opinion on my work, especially_ slyfoxx, Musicallity, Vassel, TDG3RD, Fulcon, Warrior of winds, MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, artbug, Evil Riggs, lacerated goths and teddies, gatogirl1, Skye-chan, sparky333, Bitchy Princess _and _LostInHyrule.

_Again, sorry if I forgot you. Don't hesitate to let me know if I did._

**NEXT!**


	56. Shadows of the Future 9

Chapter LXIII

Plasmius fazed through the ceiling of her bedroom. The black, purple tinged rings she had seen so many times before appeared around her waist and transformed her back into Vanessa Masters. The woman fell onto her bed and let out a heavy sigh.

"MmmSkulker?" she mumbled through the pillow that covered her face. "Please tell me you recorded that."

The air next to Plasmius' bed flickered as Skulker's cloaking technology dissipated. The hulking humanoid robot appeared, looking down at his employer with concern.

"Of course I did," he replied. "Care to explain why that particular crisis was so important?"

Vanessa rolled onto her side and looked at the robotic shell. Her eyelids drooped and the dark circles that stood out so predominantly under her ghost form's eyes were beginning to show through on her human skin.

"Care to explain why you're standing in a single woman's room uninvited?"

"I _was_ invited here."

Vanessa smiled. "I don't remember inviting you. Perhaps you should . . . refresh my memory a bit?" She reached out and grabbed Skulker's belt buckle, but her fingers slid off as she rolled onto her back laughing. "Look at me," she giggled. "I'm so pathetic."

Skulker rolled his eyes. "You are not pathetic, you're just drunk."

Vanessa gasped and glared at her hired hand. "How dare you make such an accusation!" she said mockingly. "I most drunk am _not_ certainly . . . wait-"

Skulker rested his hand gently on her forehead. "Thermal readings show that you have a temperature of eighty one point one."

"So it's a little low," Vanessa said. "Probably from being out in the cold for so long. Maybe you could see just how cold it was outside if you get me out of these clothes."

"Its early spring," Skulker replied, ignoring her last remark. "And, being that you're half ghost, your body temperature is twenty degrees lower than that of a normal human to start with. Your current temperature indicates that you have a fever, or some other form of human illness. I guess that explains your unusual and . . . _risqué_ behavior."

Vanessa coughed loudly as if to verify the mercenary's claim. "Skulker, be a dear and make me some soup?"

The ghost turned intangible with an upset look displayed on his robotic features. "Of course," he muttered as he sank through the floor. "It's not like I have a niece that may require my assistance on the far west coast."

Vanessa frowned once Skulker was gone. How was she going to explain to him that his niece had been killed in the battle at Axion Labs? He surely wouldn't take the news lightly. She turned on the television and sighed with relief at the caption on the bottom of the screen.

* * *

**Professor Robert Faluca: Survived Phantom Attack at Axion Labs.**

The anchorwoman on the television, Amity Park's Tiffany Snow, was explaining how Faluca, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson were saved by an unidentified ghost after the office was attacked two days earlier.

". . . unsure as to the nature of the ghost's attack on Professor Faluca's office, but details will be divulged at the interview given by Professor Robert Faluca, who survived the attack."

Just as she finished her sentence the short, heavyset man took his place behind the podium that was erected on the center of the stage at the town hall. Samantha and Tucker took their seats near the back of the wall next to Maddie, Jazz and Jack Fenton. The chattering amongst the crowd died down immediately.

"I would like to start this meeting off by saying thank you to everyone who has supported the Fenton family throughout this ordeal. I know I speak for all of us when I say that there is no possible way to relate to what you had to go through, but we will continue to be there and give our support regardless."

Applause erupted from the mass of reporters gathered in the expansive room. Robert held his hands up to quiet them.

"My first order of business is to attempt to clear up as much of the ambiguity created by this mess as possible. Now I know everyone in this room and everyone watching this broadcast believe that Phantom was the ghost responsible for all the damage done in the past week or so. That is _not_ the case-"

Questions and protests exploded from the crowd as if a cannon had been fired.

"Please, please, everyone, settle down," Mr. Faluca said loudly. The rambling quieted, but took longer to evaporate than it did initially. "I know this comes as a shock to you, but it is the truth. The ghost in question bore no resemblance to Phantom except for its green eyes. That proves nothing, however, as studies indicate that green eye color is evident in almost seventy five percent of all ectoplasmic entities."

"How do you explain the logo on his chest then?" shouted an accusatory inquirer.

"In direct contrast with eyewitness reports, photographic evidence of Phantom is scarce. Intelligence indicates that Phantom had adorned himself with his logo several days prior to the rampage of the other being that masqueraded as him. The logo itself means nothing other than a way for Phantom to be easily identified as a superhero and the other ghost used this in order to fool everyone into thinking he was Phantom."

"If all of this is true then, where was the real Phantom during all of this?"

Mr. Faluca looked in the direction of his latest questioner. "_Shadow Phantom_, as he called himself during the attack on my office, managed to capture Phantom during a confrontation in the woodland area at the edge of town. Phantom was held captive in a warehouse out at the abandoned docks before he managed to escape. By then Shadow Phantom had already been defeated by the combined efforts of the Guys in White and the Fentons."

"How do you know all this?" shouted a reporter from the back of the room.

"Phantom contacted Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley," Mr. Faluca gestured to the two teenagers seated behind him, "upon his return to Amity Park. They came to me with the information so that I was better able to understand what I had seen and gone through."

"Were you saved by Phantom?"

"No. We were saved by another benevolent ghost named Kitty. She turned the three of us intangible before we could be hurt by the attack that destroyed my office."

"Just how many ghosts were in your office?"

"Four. Shadow Phantom came in order to find a chemical compound to use for his own purposes which were not revealed to any of us. The effects of the element are unknown, as are Shadow Phantom's motives for attempting to steal it. Kitty then arrived with another ghost known as Johnny Thirteen, who tried to stop Shadow Phantom. The Wisconsin Ghost arrived last alongside the Huntress and those four began battling."

"Is this Johnny Thirteen person a benevolent ghost as well?"

"What about the Wisconsin Ghost?"

"Johnny Thirteen could be seen as benevolent. However, his confrontation with the Huntress resulted in his disappearance, so that is up to debate. As for the Wisconsin Ghost? Her pledge to defeat Shadow Phantom eclipsed her pledge to return Daniel Fenton safe and sound. I was able to witness part of her battle with Shadow Phantom, and even in that short time she made no indication of having a desire to save Danny."

"Authorities were forced to place the area under lockdown and, for safety reasons; the press was not given an opportunity to document the fight. Can you describe it to us?"

"No, I cannot. I was moved from the area before I could undergo any harm."

"Danny Fenton went missing at the same time as Phantom, was gone for the same amount of time and was, allegedly, found again on the same night. Can you verify this and, if so, can you explain any relationship between the two?"

"Danny often accompanied Phantom on his patrols, using his parents' anti-ghost weaponry to contain the ghosts that Phantom dispatched. The night of Phantom's capture was no different and Danny was caught in the crossfire. Shadow Phantom, after incapacitating Phantom, held Danny hostage inside his body in order to feed of the boy's body energy to sustain his own form." The audience gasped at the revelation. "Upon his discovery, he was taken into the care of the Guys in White and will be released from their medical facility by sometime tomorrow. I hope that cleared the important issues up with most of you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a job to get to."

The swarm of reporters began shouting their questions at the man once more, but he did not comment. Mr. Faluca exited the town hall and entered the police vehicle waiting for him.

"Officer, I believe you know where to go."

"I do, I just wish I knew how to get there from the ground."

"You don't know how to get to Axion Labs?"

"Gimmie a break, I'm fourteen!"

Mr. Faluca gasped. "Daniel? Is . . is that _you_?"

"In the flesh! Well, you know, not _my_ flesh . . . So, uh, how've you been?"

Robert smiled as the car began to slowly move away from the town hall. "This takes impersonating an officer to an unprecedented level. I hope you can come up with a good defense when this goes to court."

"Aw, come on, it's me! The town hero! Besides, I've got the cops on my side."

"The boys in blue?"

"Guys in White; the only cops whose rules I actually have to listen to."

"Interesting. Oh, stop sign!"

"Relax, I got it! I can tap into this guys consciousness and bring up some of his more basic functions like talking, walking and, I don't know, maybe _driving_ . . . if I'm _lucky_.

"So the GIW let you out again?"

"Yup, and this time it's for good. All I needed was some sleep and all they needed was a few blood samples. That shadow ghost really took it out of me."

"You mean _Shadow Phantom_?"

The officer chuckled, prompted by Phantom's internal influence. "Oh right, how silly of me. I gotta hand it to you, you pulled that off flawlessly. We didn't even come up with a cover for what happened at your office!"

Mr. Faluca smiled recalling how the three teenagers had approached him in his makeshift office the night before to go recap on the last few days, get some awkward explanations out of the way and plan for the future. Namely, the press conference he had just went through.

"The city of Amity Park owes you. Since they can't, and most likely wouldn't, repay you I stepped up to bat."

"And I am eternally grateful."

"As you should be. Hopefully this will get you back in good standings with the city."

"Yeah, me too. I did some bad things, didn't I?"

"You can't remember?"

"No, all I can remember is my first fight with Plasmius outside Dash Baxter's house. I guess the shadow ghost took over after that. Everything's a blur."

"To answer your question, yes, you did do some pretty bad things. You leveled a construction zone which you claim to have thought was an abandoned and run-down part of town. Eight people were wounded and hospitalized and my office is destroyed."

Phantom remained silent.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You weren't in control. Doing things like that would've never even crossed your mind if you were in control."

"I s_hould've_ been in control."

"But you weren't. Stuff like this happens all the time. Maybe not on such a grand scale, nevertheless, it does happen."

_I am in control of my power whereas your power has taken control of you. _Phantom shook the officer's head, trying to dispel those haunting words.

"From now on, if you find something in that Ghost Zone of yours, bring it to me before it turns you into a monster, alright?"

"Will do."

Phantom manipulated the officer's body to stop the car outside Axion Labs main gate. Mr. Faluca exited the back seat and waved at the boy who he had come to learn so much about. With so much stress in his life, it was a miracle he was able to continue with his self-destructive lifestyle at all.

Phantom removed himself from the police officer's body and flew off toward his home, distracted by his busy and, once again, central consciousness. So many people had told him to just live and learn. Why was it such a difficult concept for him to grasp? He had been so down on life in the past few weeks, reflecting on everything he had deemed as villainous, but now his pessimism was starting to wear on him. For the most part, he was beginning to accept the truth; that heroics don't always leave the hero unscathed.

One thing he was unable to shake, however, lingered in the back of his mind. It felt like a fly bumping into the back of his skull. The issue itself was not a problem, but the fact that it refused to stay down irritated him. When he focused on it, he realized, with some degree of disgust, that the irksome feeling centered on a certain Penelope Spectra . . . and a certain Danny Fenton's lingering feelings for her.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_What a trip THIS was! Took over a month just to do this segment! I promise that production will increase, possibly exponentially. I'm taking a college psychology class (I'm only a senior in High School) and that kinda eats into my writing time, but there are only four classes left, so . . . you know, I'll get done faster and stuff. BEAR WITH ME, PEOPLE, I'M JUST A MAN!_

_Getting closer to the 700th review . . . just thought I'd remind everyone. Speaking of which, thanks to everyone who reviewed. Especially_ Musicallity, TDG3RD, Celestial Maiden Sukira, Skye-chan, MissMeliss4251, Bloxham, Anna Lee Gray, Warrior of winds, Belthasar, Fulcon_ and_ Twilight-Phantom66.

_Oh, and I've got the crossover down and how it will tie into everything. It's coming along nicely and I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised. Also, as a pre-emptive statement, I will not comment on this development for the FFNNewspaper. Its one of the few secrets that I intend to keep out of the spotlight._

Next up, the couple with fidelity issues! At least on one end . . .


	57. Conquest of Desire 1

Chapter LXIII

"And, would you believe it, she had a _fever_!"

Danny and Tucker laughed at the end of the story. A very bemused Skulker sat at the Fenton's dinner table holding a teacup in his mechanical hand. The small cup looked like a fly in comparison.

"Is she still sick?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"Sadly, her health has returned. She claimed to need solace as her recovery completed, and I took advantage of the situation."

"So day one of _Skulker's Week Off_ has been good so far?" Danny inquired.

Skulker gingerly held the teacup up to his mouth and too a sip of the liquid. "It has been very good, although I'm somewhat confused as to why Samantha has not arrived."

"You and me both," Danny said. "She hasn't picked up her cell phone all day and all I get is the answering machine when I try the landline."

"You haven't simply gone over to ensure everything is alright? With the abilities you possess, such a task would be effortless."

"I don't like to use my powers like that," Danny said sheepishly. His hand rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well then why not use your average human _whelp_ abilities and ring the doorbell?"

Danny scowled. "Because, Ghost Zone's greatest cynic, Sam's parents are out of town. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but her grandmother went with them. So she's home by herself. If Tucker or I even step foot over there, we could get sued."

"He's not kidding," Tucker said, entering the conversation. "Sam's dad is crazy about her hanging out with us at all. Going over to her house when there's absolutely no parental supervision would be grounds for a restraining order. And that would be going easy on us."

Skulker rubbed the green flame that made up his goatee. "Well, her father said nothing about _family_ visitation, did he now?"

Danny and Tucker shook their heads.

"Wonderful."

The ghost turned intangible and floated up through the roof. Danny and Tucker watched him go before returning to their lunch, which consisted of tea and homemade cookies.

Danny let out a chuckle. "Who'da thought Skulker would like this stuff?"

"Not me," Tucker said.

"Speaking of technological beings how's that jacket Technus made for me?"

"Oh, that thing's finished. I got all those electric shock generators out, but managed to keep the light-up function intact so those cool techno patterns will still glow."

"Awesome." Danny set the plate of cookies on the counter next to the pantry. The tea was placed in the refrigerator. "So, you find anything out about Technus with all the code he left you?"

Tucker smiled. "The next time he rolls around town, you won't _have_ to be able to punch him to beat him senseless. I've got the solution for all Technus related problems."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really. I spun off plenty of programs using his basic code he left in the jacket. I have firewalls to keep our stuff safe from him as well as viruses that can easily get into him and quickly bring him down."

"I'm starting to miss the guy," Danny said as he sat back down at the table. "But I'm starting to miss Sam more. You think she's ok?"

Tucker readjusted his beret on his head. "Dude, she's fine. Remember, its Sam you're talking about. What could possibly be happening right now that would be placing her in any danger whatsoever?"

* * *

"Hello?" Sam said groggily as she answered her cell phone. 

"Hey there sleeping beauty, hope I didn't wake you up," replied the person on the other line.

Sam sat up in her bed. "Who's this?" she mumbled.

"It's Paulina, silly, who else?" came the all-too-happy response.

"_Paulina?_" Sam almost shouted. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. So, what'cha doin?"

"Hanging up."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Paulina shouted.

Sam sighed and brought the phone back to her ear. "What? What do you want?"

"Got plans for tonight?" the Hispanic girl asked.

"Well, seeing as how tomorrow is our last day off before the school reopens, I was going to spend the day with Danny and Tucker, safely away from the brutality of conformity and high school popularity."

"Funny, because Dash tells me that Danny is going over to his place for an all night game bonanza or something like that," Paulina countered, ignoring Sam's verbal jest.

Sam's heart sank. "Well I'll just hang out with Tucker then."

"Tucker was invited too. And, since it's an all night thing, Dash's parents have a strict boys-only policy."

Sam sighed. Paulina was, most likely, right. Ever since Danny was indicted into the A-List crowd, he seemed to be drifting further and further away. "Ok, so I don't have any plans at all. Thanks for darkening my mood, now I'm going to sit here in despair until tomorrow."

"Or, you could come over to my house," the girl offered. "I'm having the girls over since most of them have nothing to do thanks to Dash's party. Interested?"

"Why would I want to hang out with you and your self centered, egotistical, megalomaniacal-"

"Hey, if you don't want to come, that's fine," Paulina said, interrupting Sam's rant. "I'm not asking you to show up wearing pink and talk about boys all night."

"But, ultimately, that's what you're all going to do, right? And I'll be forced to sit there and listen to everyone blather on about God-knows-what until three in the morning when you all pass out from oxygen deprivation."

There was a pause from Paulina's end. "I don't know why you're so mean to me," she said quietly.

"Because you're-"

"Because I'm _what_? Because I'm pretty? Because I just happen to hang out with the people everyone else thinks are cool? Because I'm a cheerleader? What? I want to know."

"You and everyone like you have done nothing but torment Danny, Tucker and me for as long as we could comprehend what _torment_ was."

"Oh, right, yeah, name one thing I did to you ever."

It was Sam's turn to remain silent.

"Sure, we all make jokes, but don't sit there and tell me that you and your two boy toys don't do the same."

"_Boy toys_?"

"Forget it. Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for anything mean I've ever done directly to you in the past, ok? Besides, Tucker and Danny seem to have let bygones be bygones with Dash and his goons, why can't you?"

Sam rubbed her eyes with her free hand and looked out her window. Her eyelids snapped open and the form of her uncle hovered outside, his arms crossed impatiently.

"Yeah, ok, I do. Listen, I have to go," Sam said hurriedly. In her haste to get out of her bed, her feet became entangled in her sheets and she cried out as she fell to the ground with a thump. "Just, I don't know, text me directions or whatever."

"You'll be there?"

"Yes, yes, ok? I have to go now, bye!" Sam closed her phone, cutting off the Hispanic girl and tossed it onto her bed. She yanked the sheets off of her feet and scrambled over to the window.

"Uncle Kain!" Sam said gleefully as she opened the window.

Skulker looked at the frame with a raised eyebrow. It was obviously too small for him to simply fly through.

"Samantha," Skulker said as he fazed through the wall. He was quickly embraced by his niece and he awkwardly returned the gesture. "How have you been?"

"Well, I've been better. Some weird stuff has been going on lately."

"You're telling me," the mercenary said under his breath. "Care to explain why you weren't at your mate's residence this morning?"

"He is _not_ my _**mate**_!" Sam said angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you that? Besides, I'm not supposed to hang out with them until my parents get back."

"It would've been nice to call your mate with this news before sending him into a panicked frenzy."

"He got that worried?" Sam asked. Correcting her uncle seemed to have slipped her mind.

"Well, maybe frenzy is too strong a word. But he _was_ worried. He claims that you failed to return his cellular and standard telephone calls."

Sam walked back over to her bed and picked up her phone. A message reported that she had missed over twenty calls in the past half hour. All were either from Danny's cell phone or his house.

"That's so sweet- uh, I mean, that's so, err, like him. I just overslept. He just needs to realize that I can take care of myself."

"I have to sympathize with him on this one," Skulker replied with a grin. "You do an awful job taking care of just your hair."

Sam lifted her hands up to her head and felt around. "I just woke up!"

Skulker rolled his eyes. "No, not that, I'm speaking of the irrational repetition of, what's the word, dyeing?"

Sam gasped. "How did you know?"

Skulker chuckled. "The odds of you having black hair, whereas both your mother _and _father have blonde hair, are astronomical. Your grandmother had blonde hair before it became white. Hell, even I had blonde hair. Why do you cover yours?"

Sam bit her lower lip and looked at her mirror on the far side of the room. "Even before I met Danny and Tucker and everyone else I know I've always hated my hair. It looked so . . . different."

Skulker floated in front of his niece. "I thought you embraced individuality," he stated. "Am I incorrect?"

Sam walked closer to her mirror. "No, you're right. I do like that stuff; individuality, self expression, the whole nine yards-"

Skulker cringed. "You _liked_ that movie?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "-but my hair was always just . . . I don't know, made me feel like one of _them_."

Skulker hovered behind Sam and gently rested his wide hands on her shoulders. "If I may provide a second opinion?" Sam nodded. "You should remove the falsified coloration. Your natural beauty is what makes you unique."

Sam gazed into her mirror, deep in thought. Skulker moved back and crossed his arms.

"You're right," she said at long last, turning to face her uncle. "I mean, you know, maybe just for today. But how am I supposed to-"

Skulker pressed his finger to Sam's forehead. Her body became intangible, but the hair dye that covered each strand fell and dissipated into thin air, having nothing to cling to. Her eyebrows received the same treatment. Skulker recalled his finger and Sam turned once again to look in the mirror. A smile crept onto her face as she saw herself, almost for the first time. Samantha Manson's reflection, with a full head of platinum blonde, almost silver, hair, stared right back at her.

"Wow . . . I haven't seen it like this in so long. Uncle Kain, what do you-" Sam looked around the room only to find Skulker had vanished. "Darn it. He's gone."

Sam looked down at her nightgown and sighed, realizing that she would have to change. She walked into her closet and looked around for something to wear. For some strange reason, though, nothing in her newly acquired gothic wardrobe appealed to her.

_Hey, it's the new me! At least for today. I should think outside the box . . . more so than usual_, Sam thought to herself.

Spying a normal pair of blue jeans, she snatched them off the hangar and threw them outside the expansive closet onto the floor. The young woman then searched for a suitable top to go with her pants. Again, none of the gloomy and occasionally skull-riddled T-shirts seemed to fit the mood. Sam growled as she dug deeper, making quite a mess of things. A black shirt with green sleeves flew past. A purple shirt with fishnet sleeves followed. A black belly shirt soared through the air-

-and was immediately grabbed up again. Sam looked at the article of clothing with curiosity. It was a most unusual idea, the one that was running through her mind, but her new look called for, well, a new look. The top landed on the pair of jeans outside the closet. Sam stood up, hit her head on a shelf and reached up to soothe the afflicted area, accidentally grabbing yet another article of clothing. Sam pulled it down from the shelf and grinned. It was a button-up version of the shirt that Danny so often wore. In fact, the shirt was Danny's. She had borrowed it from Danny during a particularly slimy ghost battle in which her original shirt had been coated in a most disgusting residue and failed to return it to him. The red collar and sleeve lining accented the red oval that was split by at the middle perfectly.

Within ten minutes, Sam's new outfit was draped over her body and she was admiring her new, if temporary, look in her mirror. Her hair was released from the green ponytail and hung loosely over her shoulders, which were covered by Danny's T-shirt. It was left unbuttoned, revealing her slender figure. The jeans hung around her hips and her black top showed off more of her midsection than even her grandmother would have found appropriate. Well, maybe not her grandma . . .

_I wonder if Danny would like this_, Sam mused as she examined herself in the mirror. She allowed herself to laugh at her own introspective question. _Who am I kidding? I look like one of those ego-inflated peppy princesses. He'd be all over me in seconds._

"I just wish there was some way he could see me like this," she mumbled softly.

"_Your heart's desire is my command,"_ said an eerie, disembodied voice.

Sam heard what sounded like gunshots go off from her bathroom, instantly distracting her from the voice. The girl vaulted to the door and threw it open. Her jaw dropped as she saw the entire room covered in black liquid. The remains of her exploded hair dye bottles littered the floor.Sam cursed under her breath. The stuff was very, very expensive. It was one of the few brands in the world that made black hair dye that didn't look completely ridiculous and obvious when applied. But that wasn't the worst part. Sam was not as clueless as some people she knew and realization set in quickly that she had none of the substance left to re-dye her hair before Paulina's party.

"Oh crap."

* * *

"Oh crap," Danny said angrily as Tucker threw a plasma grenade from across Lockout. Danny walked right into it and exploded. 

"Geometry's golden!" Tucker shouted from the room over. Danny grumbled and waited for his player to respond.

"Dude, you're getting your ass whooped on!" Kwan taunted.

"I know," Danny said irritably. "Tucker somehow figured out the geometric measurements of this game along with the trajectories of all the weapons."

"So there's no way to beat him?" Dash asked as he set a two liter bottle of soda on the table next to the television.

"One thing that Tucker can't do during a videogame is account for variables. You have to _be_ the variable."

"Of course, sansei. I shall bring forth more Pepsi to appease your restless soul." Dash bowed and left the room.

Danny cheered as he sniped Tucker without using his scope.

"What's the matter?" Danny called out. "Your calculator run outta batteries?"

"Going blind in your old age? We're tied, fool!"

Danny frowned at the scoreboard, showing the scores at twenty four to twenty four. The next kill would win the game.

"I feel a comeback coming up!" Danny shouted as he picked up the shotgun.

"That's redundant! Or contradictory, I'm not sure which," Tucker replied as the sound of an energy sword activating reached Danny's ears.

"Doesn't matter what it is, 'cause I'm gonna win!"

"In your dreams!"

Danny's character rounded the corner and came face to face with Tucker's character. The sage SPARTAN, patterned with crimson markings reeled back at the sight of its steel-colored adversary.

Tucker lunged, but Danny ducked just in time. Tucker, not missing a beat, jumped on Danny's head and leapt backwards, throwing a fragmentation grenade at his opponent's feet. Danny tried to jump clear of the blast radius, but the device exploded, sending him up at an angle. Tucker lunged with his sword, but he missed and the two players found themselves hurtling to an early death. Both of them primed a plasma grenade and stuck the other right on the faceplate. Twin orbs of blue fire erupted from somewhere below the facility entrenched into the snowy mountainside. An ominous voice spoke up upon the two SPARTANs' demises.

"_Game over_."

The post-game carnage report declared that the two had tied for first place. Danny set his controller down and sighed. Wins, losses, ties; he took them all as they came.

"Well you two have sufficiently wasted about twenty minutes," Dash said as he came back in the room, followed by Tucker. "And the party doesn't start for another three hours. Any ideas until then?"

"You guys could take us on," Tucker offered.

Kwan laughed. "Yeah right! We'd be massacred!"

"So what's your bright idea?" Tucker retorted.

"I don't know . . . we could see if Paulina's online."

"You want Danny and me to watch while you two have cyber sex with Paulina?"

Dash laughed. "No, idiot, I have a web cam. It's like being in the same room as the person . . . but you're not."

"Well fire it up!" Danny said as he sprawled himself out on Dash's sofa. "I haven't seen her in a while."

"Oooh, looks like Fenton-ouski has a crush on Paulina!" Dash said in a mocking tone.

"Are you kidding? What would Paulina see in scrawny, geeky Danny Fenton?"

"Dude, don't be so hard on yourself. She's totally into you," Dash replied.

"You're so full of-"

"I'm dead serious. I'll ask her if you don't believe me."

"Go for it, dude," Danny said with a yawn.

"She's online," Kwan announced. "I'm getting the link established, hold on one second . . . there! Say hello to the guys, Paulina!"

The Hispanic girl sat at a chair on her computer. She smiled and waved at the camera that was mounted on top of her computer monitor.

"Hello boys," she said happily. "Who's all there?"

"It's me," Dash said, taking the seat where Kwan was, "Kwan and mister Foley. Who's all at your place?"

"Just me and Star," Paulina turned around, revealing Star in the background painting her nails. "Say hi to your boyfriend, sweetie!"

Star raised an eyebrow at her friend, but then saw Tucker waving at her from the computer screen. Her face reddened at the realization that he was watching her go about her self pampering activities.

"Hey Tuck," she said with a giggle. "Sorry you had to see me like this."

"Don't worry about it," Tucker replied. "And, might I add, that is a lovely shade you're applying." Tucker leaned closer to the screen. "Would that happen be Cherry Red #7?"

Star rolled her eyes and picked up the container that was on the table next to her. Her eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, it is! Omigosh, how'd you know that?"

"You'll find I'm full of surprises," Tucker said with a smirk.

Paulina swiveled her chair and took up the screen again. "So Tucker, where's Danny? I thought he'd be there with you guys."

"He's running late. He said he'd be here soon."

"Oh," the girl looked down at her desk.

"Why do you care?" Dash pressed. "You like him or something?"

Paulina grinned. "Well, he_ is _cute, but he likes Sam, doesn't he?"

Tucker shoved Dash's chair out of the way and centered himself in front of the web cam. "He adores Sam. I mean, like, seriously, he pretty much worships the ground she walks on. Why do you think he started wearing all that black recently anyway? He's starting to lose control over his urges to just get Sam alone in a room and-"

"You're joking," Paulina said incredulously, cutting Tucker off from his detailed analysis.

"Absolutely not."

"Well," Paulina licked her lips slowly. "If he ever needs help taming the beast within, send him my way. I'm sure I could find . . . _some _way to soothe him."

"Alright, I have to go before I hurl all over my computer," Dash said loudly, elbowing Tucker out of the way. "We'll be on later." Dash shut down the computer, not bothering to exit out of the program.

"That was disturbing." Kwan said. "I hope that cleared things up for you, Fenton."

Danny was grinning from ear to ear. "Yup."

"Come on, dude," Tucker sighed. "She was obviously joking."

"I don't know, Tucker," Dash replied as he brought out more bags of chips before heading back into the kitchen once again. "She seemed pretty serious to me."

"Whatever the case may be, Danny likes Sam." Tucker turned with a smile to the teenager in question. "Isn't that right, Dan?"

"Dude, leave the _Danny loves Sam_ stuff to Jazz, please?" Danny said with an exasperated sigh.

"Speaking of which," Dash chimed in as he reentered the room, "how's she doing?"

"Good. She's been counseling little kids for the past few days as part of her college thesis or something like that, but I think she has tonight off." Danny looked at the taller boy suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"What, I can't check up on my friends' families?"

"You never ask how my family's doing . . ." Kwan said sadly.

"I saw them yesterday, nitwit."

"Oh, right."

"Jazz is fine," Danny spoke up. His expression was stern. "She has been very busy recently, and is going to use her down time to work on some invention my parents are making."

"Jazz is into that ghost stuff?" Dash asked curiously.

"She's more in it for the psychological possibilities. She figures there have to be ways to communicate with ghosts and, if that's true, she thinks there are peaceful ways to get them to leave humans alone."

"That's pretty deep," Tucker said. "I never knew that was why she was so into the stuff."

"And now you do."

"I wish I could see her tonight," Dash said mostly to himself. Danny heard him and glared daggers in his direction. "Just, you know, to say _hi_ or something."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, _or something_."

"_You're hearts desire is my command,"_ spoke a mysterious and undeniably feminine voice.

"What the hell was that?" Kwan asked in a nervous tone. He looked around the room trying to find the source of the voice.

"I don't-" Danny was cut off mid-sentence as his cell phone began to ring in his pocket. He quickly withdrew the device and opened it. "Hello?"

"Danny? It's Jazz," replied his sister. "Listen, I just got invited to Paulina Sanchez' house for her party tonight. Are you going too?"

Danny laughed. "Jazz, that's a girl's only party."

"So, are you going?" Danny could practically hear the smile on Jazz's face.

"Oh, I'm roffling right now, you're just _that_ funny," Danny said as he rolled his eyes. "I'll be at Dash's house for the night."

"Really?" Jazz asked, her tone now interested. "How's he doing?"

"He's right here, why don't you ask him yourself?"

"What? Oh, no, I couldn't! I mean, I was just-"

"Well that's ok; you'll get to talk to him later tonight anyway. Paulina's got a web cam in her room so everyone can talk to each other."

"That's, uh, great! Wonderful! I can't wait. Tell him that I said hi."

"Will do. Drive safe."

"Yeah, you too, bye!"

Danny closed his phone with a smile.

"Who was that?" Tucker asked as he started up a cooperative game with Kwan on _Halo 2_.

"Jazz, she's going to Paulina's party" Danny turned to Dash. "She's totally into you."

Dash's eyes widened. "How do you know?"

"Dude, nothing like that slips past me," Danny responded proudly. "I am . . ." he lowered his voice to a hush. "The Observant One."

"My ass," Tucker said as his character blasted an Elite in the face. "You're the _clueless _one, in case you've forgotten."

"Why am I the-"

"Guys," Dash said in sudden shock. "That voice!"

"The one in your head telling you to burn things?" Kwan asked with a grin. "I thought you got rid of it."

"No, stupid, the one that said your hearts desire is . . . something, I forget, but I think it was a genie!"

Tucker, Kwan and Danny traded glances before bursting out into laughter.

"A genie?" Kwan asked through strangled gasps for air. "Why a friggin genie, dude?"

"I wished that I could see Danny's sister, and suddenly she decides to go to Paulina's party! Coincidence much?"

"Or . . . too coincidental to be a coincidence?" Tucker replied with a similar expression.

"You guys are serious?" Kwan asked, looking between the two. His eyes settled on Danny, hoping that someone else had retained their sanity. "Genies aren't real!"

Danny's eyes widened as well. "No, genies don't exist. But _ghosts_ do."

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious who the ghost for this chapter is. No, it isn't Skulker, he just popped in to say hi. He might be back, but I'm not sure yet. And there's still one, maybe two, ghosts left to come into play. I mean, the first one hasn't really jumped right into the action yet either, but you already know who it is._

_About Sam wearing hair dye. If you think about it what are the odds of a girl, born into a family where both of the parents are blonde, having black hair? If you recall, Sam's parents weren't introduced until the end of the first season, and served primarily to give basis to why Sam hates conformity. Now, if both of them revealed that they had been wearing wigs the whole time, I'd be obliged to fix my mistake. But they don't. I've watched all of season three and they're still blondes. But hey, what's done is done. I made the change and I'm sticking to it._

_So I hope this was ok for all you. Next chapter, Danny and Sam see each other over the internet and Danny makes a stunning observation about the young woman. You won't want to miss it!_

_Thanks to my reviewers, especially_ Skye-chan, Fulcon, leadfoot352, slyfoxx, Musicallity, Bloxham, Bitchy Princess, TDG3RD, MissMeliss4251, Twilight-Phantom66, artbug, Warrior of winds, Celestial Maiden Sukira _and _darkbunny92.

**Autobots, transform and roll out!**


	58. Conquest of Desire 2

Chapter LXIV

Sam gulped nervously upon arriving at the door of Paulina Sanchez' home. She looked up, praying for some divine intervention. The sound of a door opening is what she got.

"Oh, hello . . . uh, do I know you?"

Sam sighed at the voice of Paulina and at the apparent absence of a certain and supposed benevolent deity. Then again, she hadn't specified just what kind of divine intervention she had hoped for.

"Yeah, it's me . . . Sam."

Paulina looked over the girl standing in her doorway. Her jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened.

"Oh. My. God. Sam, I absolutely_ looove_ what you did to your hair! Where'd you get that color?"

"From my parents," the girl in question mumbled. "This is my natural color."

Paulina stepped out from behind her door. "You mean you've been dyeing your hair black since, when did we meet, _third_ grade?"

"Guess so." Sam was surprised it had been that long.

"Gee-whiz, Sam, that's a shocker. I never would've guessed you were platinum!"

"Nobody ever did, so I guess the dye did its job."

Paulina smiled at the joke. "Well don't just stand there, come on in! Everyone's already here, and they'll just _dye _when they see the little makeover you gave yourself! And to think we were gonna do it for you! Ha!"

Sam followed the girl into her house and instantly felt uncomfortable. She had never gone to another girl's house for any period of time. This was a major step outside her comfort zone, but Sam knew it was for the best. How would she hope to survive in college and the real world if she couldn't spend time with only members of her own sex?

"Girls, I believe you all know Sam Manson?"

A blasé mixture of responses came from all corners of the room; most of the speakers didn't even bother to look up at the newcomer.

Jazz was not one of those people.

"Sam?" She asked in shock. "Is that you?"

"No, I'm Sam's cousin, Samuella," Sam rolled her eyes. "Of course it's me."

"Wow," Jazz paused to look over her younger brother's friend. "Your hair looks amazing!"

"Is that all you people like me for now? My hair?"

"Relax, Sam, I'm just saying it looks nice. Where'd you get the dye?"

Sam growled. "This is my natural hair color."

"Really?" Jazz asked, taken aback.

"I know, right?" Paulina interjected. "I mean, who'da thought?"

"I know!"

"You know something, Manson? That looks an awful lot like Danny Fenton's shirt." The voice of Valerie Gray caught Sam's attention. Jazz and Paulina seemed interested as well, due in no small part to the obvious suspicion that accented Valerie's tone.

"That's because it _is_ Danny's shirt," Sam retorted. "He let me borrow it after something exploded in his parent's lab and got my other one all slimy."

"I'm sure that's exactly what happened." Valerie sounded much more hostile now.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Valerie took several steps closer. "Just because we broke up doesn't mean I don't still like him."

Star, having heard the two girls getting angry with the other and hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation, stepped into the conversation. "Val, how about you and me go downstairs? I think I left my purse down there and my phone's in it, ok?"

Valerie followed her friend out of the room, never taking her glaring eyes off Sam.

"What's her deal?" Paulina asked. "Everyone knows that you wouldn't ever make a move on Danny, let alone in his own house."

"Yeah I-" Sam froze and spun around to stare at the Hispanic girl. "Wait a second, now what's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oh come off it, everyone knows you like Danny," Paulina said as she brushed several loose strands of hair out of her face. "But if there's one thing everyone knows better is that you don't have the guts to ask him out."

"Hold that thought, Paulina," Jazz said, raising her arm. "When did something explode in our lab that messed up your shirt?"

"I-it was a while ago, ok? I don't remember."

Jazz looked at Sam sternly, trying to force the truth out of the younger girl. After several seconds, she decided that, if Sam was lying, she wasn't going to announce it in Paulina's bedroom.

Jazz's expression popped into a cheery one. "Ok!" she said contentedly before making way for another part of the room.

"You don't, do you?" Paulina pressed.

"Don't what?"

"Have the guts to ask Danny out?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Look, you invited me here with good intentions and, against my better judgment, I agreed to show. Now you're making me even more uncomfortable than I already am. Stop pestering me or I'll be gone faster than you can blink."

Paulina rolled her eyes and sat down at her computer. "I'm sorry. All I'm saying is that you should really make a move sooner or later."

Sam found an inflatable medicine ball and rolled it over near Paulina's chair. "Why is this such a big issue for you?"

"Believe it or not, I do have feelings." Paulina said wryly.

"Stop the presses," Sam mumbled.

"And I get upset when relationships don't end up the way they should," she continued, ignoring Sam's remark.

"You didn't seem too upset when Penelope disappeared. And you didn't seem to care when Valerie dumped Danny. Are you lying, or is there something I'm missing?"

"Penelope was a bitch," Paulina casually examined her perfectly manicured nails. "Me, you and everyone this side of Amity Park knew it. She didn't deserve Danny and her leaving without notice, in the middle of the Valentine's Day dance no less, only proves my point."

"Alright. And what about Valerie?"

Paulina glanced around the room. "Honestly, Valerie's just a big drama queen. Now I know that sounds incredibly mean considering all she's been through lately, but you should hear her at our lunch table. I mean, it just doesn't stop! The self pity, the grief, the hate she has for ghosts, I mean seriously now, you have to draw a line somewhere."

Sam found she was nodding in agreement with Paulina's mini-rant. She then gave herself a mental slap for agreeing with the conformist opinion. Still, it had merit . . .

"So you think I'm the only one right for him?" the girl asked.

"I never said that!" Paulina exclaimed. "I just didn't approve of his last two significant others. If he decides to try his luck again, though, you better be there to snag him . . . before someone else does."

"Like who?" Sam scoffed. "Who else do I have to _compete with _now?"

"I don't know, a lot of the girls at my lunch table."

Sam gaped at the young woman before her. "You can't be serious."

"I'm not allowed to like Danny?"

Sam crossed her arms. "No, you're not."

"Well, I'm inclined to disagree."

Sam stood from the ball she had been sitting on and hovered over Paulina. "From where I'm standing, you're in no position to disagree."

"And from where I'm sitting," Paulina began, looking at Sam's exposed midsection, "it looks like you dressed to impress someone tonight and since I don't remember telling you Danny was going to be here, so that leaves only girls for you to show your body off to. Tell me, Sammy, are you bi-curious?"

Paulina reached out and tickled Sam's stomach. She jerked back, slapping her offender's hand away.

"Knock it off, Paulina," Jazz said as she entered the dispute. "There's nothing wrong with being bisexual."

"Is that so, Jazzy-pants?" Paulina asked with a wink.

Jazz grinned mischievously. "You know first hand," the older girl leaned over and draped her arms over the younger girl's shoulders letting her hands rest dangerously close to Paulina's voluptuous chest.

"I learned from the best," Paulina countered as she gave one of Jazz' hands a squeeze.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Funny. You two should write skits for MADTV."

"That show's still on?" Paulina asked sincerely as Jazz withdrew.

"Hey," everyone looked at Mia, one of the girls invited to the party. "Jason just called and he said Kwan has the web cam turned on."

"Don't lie, you've been on the phone for hours," Ashley, another attendee, said as she playfully tossed a pillow at her friend.

Paulina moved her own computer's mouse, bringing it up to activity from its previously idle state. She clicked on several buttons and, after a while, a red light winked on from on top of her monitor next to a translucent black circle. A window popped up on the screen, showing the crowd of young men in the background.

Sam looked on in disbelief. Paulina caught sight of it and smiled.

"Then again, I don't remember telling you he _wasn't _going to be here either."

* * *

Desiree smiled as the expression on Samantha's face showed easily recognizable horror. It was perfect. 

"I take it your part of this ridiculous scheme is going along as planned?" boomed a deep voice from behind her.

"Ridiculous?" Desiree turned to face her husband. "Dear, this whole idea was your design. I simply have the tools to make it happen."

The Turpetrator laid his hands on Desiree's waist. She leaned forward and kissed him through the opening on his helmet.

"And it is happening?"

"This girl, Samantha," Desiree gestured to the image of the girl through the portal, "is deeply in love with the ghost boy who is oblivious to her feelings. Even with her recent alteration of her physical appearance, I am willing to presume that the ghost boy will remain oblivious and make her furious in the process."

"And that is when I come into play."

"No, you must continue to wait."

The Turpetrator brandished his sword with a growl or anger and stabbed it into a nearby rock, causing it to explode. "_**Why!?**_ It is the _perfect_ time to strike!"

Desiree sighed and rolled her eyes. "I must anger the ghost boy further as well. You will have to engage him in battle at some point during this conflict, and what better way to defeat him than to feed off of his own rage?"

The stubborn warrior rubbed the bottom of his helmet in thought. "I suppose so. But how will you bring that about?"

Desiree wrapped her ghostly tail around the Turpetrator's waist and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You leave that to me."

* * *

Danny sat on Dash's couch, the same couch he was in earlier in the day. Other people had been arriving in the past hour and the house now contained Dash, his parents and almost twenty other rambunctious teenagers. All of them were quieted now and sat around Dash's computer in a semicircle as Kwan established a webcam link with Paulina. 

"You know your sister's gonna be there," Tucker asked. The boy was sitting on the floor, leaning up against the couch.

"Uh, yeah? So what? She's allowed to go to parties."

"Yeah, Tuck, who are you to tell Danny to tell Jazz that she can't go to parties?" Dash asked as he pulled up a chair.

"On second thought," Danny said, casting Dash a sideways glance. "Maybe you're right."

"Hello boys!" said the sugar-coated voice of Paulina.

"Hey Paulina," almost all of them said in unison.

"Danny? Danny, are you there?" Jazz shouted from across the room. "Are you behaving?"

"Yes Jazz," Danny replied loudly. "I'm being a good boy, don't you worry."

"Well I have to because mom and dad do enough for the whole extended family."

"I told you and everyone else who asked a million times, I. Am. Fine."

Jazz sighed as she took a seat next to Paulina. "Alright. Oh, hi Dash!"

Dash grinned. "Hey Jazz," he said sheepishly.

"How's it going?"

"Pretty good, pretty good, how 'bout you?"

"Oh I'm fine. Can you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Make sure Danny doesn't leave the room. We have a surprise for him!"

Dash looked at the smaller boy menacingly. "Don't worry, he's going nowhere fast."

Jazz moved away from the computer and Danny heard some commotion from off-screen.

"Just come over here!"

"No!"

"Come on! You can't just hide from him forever!"

"Yes I can, and I intend to do just that!"

"Get over here!"

"No!"

"Star, Mia, grab her arms."

"What are you- no! NO! Let go of me!"

Danny watched as Sam was forced into view by two other girls. She looked furious, but upon seeing Danny her anger faltered.

"Oh, uh, hey Danny," she said nervously.

"Sam! What are you doing at Paulina's house?"

"She called me up and invited me, believe it or not." The aforementioned girl frowned and elbowed Sam in the ribs. "And I figured; why not? It's not like I had plans or anything."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense . . ."

"Danny," Jazz interrupted. "Notice anything different about Sam?"

"Jazz!" Sam uttered through clenched teeth. "Don't!"

Danny stared at the screen for almost a minute. He then sat up straight on the couch and hurried over to the chair Kwan was sitting. He looked at the image on the screen in awe. Sam blushed and tugged at a strand of her hair.

"Sam . . ." Danny said distantly.

"Yeah?"

Danny paused for a moment. "Is that . . . my shirt?"

All the girls in the background gasped and rushed over to comfort Sam, who they thought was going to have an emotional breakdown.

"Yeah, it is. You let me borrow it the one time that thing exploded in your parents' basement and got my other shirt all gooey, remember?"

"Yeah," said one of the guys. "It sure was an explosion!"

The boys began laughing hysterically as Danny regarded them with confusion.

"Whatever that's supposed to mean," he said lowly.

"Yeah," Sam replied, although a bit more embarrassed. "Well I think my mom's calling my phone, so I'll see you later."

"Alright Sam," Danny said with a smile.

As Sam walked away, Valerie started to make her way over to the camera, but Paulina swiveled her chair in front of the screen before the other girl could say anything.

"So Danny, I haven't seen that jacket in a while. What happened to it?"

"Oh, something broke inside and the blue patterns weren't glowing. Tucker took it back to his place for a while and fixed it up."

"Hear that Star?" Paulina shouted to her friend. "Tucker's good at fixing things!"

"I knew that," Star said absently as she took a seat next to her friend.

"I bet you did!" one of the other guys shouted at the camera.

"Dude, give it up," Kwan said as he started playing Uno on X-Box LIVE. "There's nothing sexual about that one."

"So, you guys having fun?"

"Within reason," Danny replied.

"Yeah, but once we get the gaming started, it will be off the heazy!" Danny, Paulina and Star cast Tucker strange looks. "Well, slightly less boring than it is now."

"So Danny, surprised to see Sam here?"

"Yeah, a little bit. But she's surprised me before, so it's cool."

"In what way?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Well-"

"Don't answer that, Dan, it's a trick question," Tucker interrupted, saving his friend from embarrassment.

"So what do you two have planned for tomorrow?"

"Sleep in," Danny said immediately. "Then probably nothing all day. Well, hopefully nothing all day." Tucker nodded in agreement.

"So I take it you two wouldn't want to accompany us to the movies?" Paulina asked with a pout.

Danny's eyes widened. Tucker smiled. "I think we could change our schedules for that."

Danny glared at Tucker. "What he means to say is-"

"DUDE!" Danny and Tucker jumped from the sudden outburst. Kwan was shouting unintelligible words at the screen. From what Danny had seen, Kwan had lost the round in his game. "You SUCK, Chuck E. Cheez! I wish that stupid rat was alive so he could-"

"_So you have wished it, so shall it be!"_

Danny gasped as the green stream of mist began to trail from his nose. He clasped his hands over his face and ran off.

"Where's he going?" Paulina asked worriedly.

"Uh, nosebleed!" Tucker said quickly. "Yeah, he's been getting them bad 'cause, you know, allergies and stuff."

"Aw, poor Danny. Does that happen a lot?"

Tucker looked on as his friend ran off to the bathroom. "More than you know."

To Be Continued.

A_/N_

_More social interaction, more flirting, more cluelessness and more devious plots. Hooray! I guess, you know, if you're into that kind of stuff. So, Someone wished for Chuckie Cheeze to come alive? And Desiree heard him? Damn you Kwan! No, I think you'll like the rest of the story. Very interesting._

_Now I'd like to address two issues that I think need addressing. First, and infinitely more important, is the conspiracy circulating around the other authors. I swear, as soon as I update this thing everyone else updates their stuff so fast that my story disappears from the first page within the next twelve hours. Do you know how ridiculous that is? CONSPIRATORS, I'm on to you. I know what you're doing and I AM NOT AMUSED. Tsk tsk, shame on you._

_Now the other, and not nearly as important issue, I have a myspace! No, I'm not an emofag that wants the attention. I'll tell you why I have one. My friends threatened to make a profile for me. Seeing as how they have a bunch of pictures of me, it wouldn't be too hard to ruin my good name. Sorta. Not really, but I decided to beat them to it and made the profile there now. If you search for_ user names, _type in_ Uncle Grumbles _and mine is the one with the picture of my face with Darth Vader's body. Send a friend request, cuz the profile is private and staying that way, then comment on my Transformers comics I'm working on! I need the self esteem!_

_There, now, onto reviews. I think the new character will be in the next segment, the way things are going. The story line for this segment is moving too fast and smoothly to just toss in a new character, so he or she or it will debut in the next segment. ONLY 30 REVIEWS TO GO, let's step it up, people!_

_Special thanks to all who reviewed, especially_ Celestial Maiden Sukira, Skye-chan, MissMeliss4251, Fulcon, Musicallity, Twilight-Phantom66, TDG3RD, Warrior of winds, Silverline Scimitar, slyfoxx _and_ Bitchy Princess.

**IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR COTTON-EYE JOE . . .**


	59. Conquest of Desire 3

Chapter Chapter LXV

Phantom circled around Dash's house, searching diligently for the ghostly offender. Which is to say his mind was focused on Paulina's proposition of a double date.

His train of thought was distracted as a wave of colors rushed at him. Unable to react quickly enough, Phantom winced as the attack slammed into his tangible body. He was carried through the sky before being violently slammed into the ground. It was then Phantom realized he had been attacked by a colored assortment of plastic balls one would find in a recreational establishment like-

"The kid has balls, I'll give him that!"

-Chuck E. Cheese's. Phantom pushed himself up off the ground and glared at his nasally-voiced adversary. The grey rat, dressed in a purple tee shirt and hat with green pants and elbow pads, grinned maliciously back at him.

"You have got to be kidding me," Phantom mumbled. "You're real?"

"Real enough to kick your ass!"

"Gee, you'd think a children-oriented character would have a cleaner vocabulary."

"I don't see any kids around. But that's because we're on your playing field. Let's say we even the odds a bit?"

Chuck lunged forward and Phantom braced for the attack. The ghost boy prepared to grab the rodent's outstretched hands and toss him aside, but as the furry limbs connected with his body Phantom felt his body decreasing in mass. He continued to shrink until the rat's arms clapped together. Phantom had disappeared.

* * *

Sam sat against the wall in Paulina's room, silently brooding over what had just occurred. The other girls kept their distance from her after she had initially lashed out at them. Jazz, however, would not be deterred so easily. 

"Sam, look-"

"You know what the worst part about it is?"

Jazz sat down next to the girl. "What?"

"Not that he didn't get all choked up, not that he only seemed to notice that I was wearing his shirt, not that he didn't notice my hair, but that he didn't notice any of that . . . as my friend."

Jazz looked at Sam sympathetically. "You know how clueless he is, Sam, its almost inhuman."

Sam chuckled. "I know he's your brother and I'm sorry, but nobody can be that stupid on accident."

"So you think he's purposely not noticing your outward appearance to spite you for whatever reason he would have for doing so?"

". . . Yes."

"Well you know that I know you're wrong, which means you must be. And I know why you'd say something like that."

Sam looked at the floor dejectedly.

"Just give him time. You're only fourteen for crying out loud! By the time you're my age you might find that you don't even like him anymore and you'll be lusting after guys like Dash or Kwan."

"Uh, _ew_?"

"You say that now. Just wait three or four years and you might think differently."

"And what if I still like him then?"

"If Danny hasn't made a move by the time he's eighteen at the latest, then he's a lost cause. Take this time to get to know him better. I mean, you probably know him better than I do, but if you two keep getting closer as friends, won't that make things easier for you later?"

"If he's still available by then," Sam muttered.

"What?"

Sam gestured at Paulina and then to Valerie, who was staring death and hatred at Paulina.

"Those two?"

"Yes, _those two_."

"Valerie broke up with him!"

"Well she still likes him. She told- no, wait, _told_ is too gentle a word. I should say _threatened_ me with that information. And Paulina pretty much came out and said she was interested. How am I supposed to compete with them? To Danny I'm just the little sister he never had."

"Sam, don't worry. As long as I can still influence his mind underneath that adamantium skull of his, I'll do everything possible to make him see you for who you really are, which is a sweet, loveable young woman."

"Thanks Jazz, I- wait, adamantium? How do you know what that is?"

Jazz stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her jeans. "Danny still hasn't learned to clean up after himself. He leaves his comic books everywhere and I usually get stuck putting them away. They're actually pretty interesting reads, to be honest."

"Really?" Sam said with a sarcastic smirk.

"But if you tell anyone I said that I will deny it up and down." The older girl winked at Sam before heading over to a group of girls her own age.

Sam stayed in her spot, thinking about what Jazz said. She hoped that her crush's sister was right and silently prayed that Danny wouldn't end up being a lost cause.

* * *

"You're a lost cause!" Chuck E. Cheese exclaimed as he laughed snobbishly. 

Phantom's eyes slowly opened, revealing some sort of kiddy wonderland. Arcade games lined almost every wall. A massive playground area dominated the center of the building and was surrounded by other game machines and entertainment devices. Phantom tried to float forward, but found he was held in place by strings. Upon further inspection, the strings proved to be tickets of some sort. Phantom continued to struggle against them, but something about the normally flimsy paper strands was keeping him tethered to the wall. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they were glowing.

Phantom looked ahead and saw the large rat creature surrounded by dozens of enthusiastic children.

"Where am I?" Phantom demanded.

"As if you have to ask? You're at . . ." the rodent held his hands out to his sides.

"_**CHUCK E. CHEESE'S!**_" the mob of youngsters roared in unison, completing their idol's sentence.

"And I brought you here to expose you for the criminal you are! Take a good look, kids," Chuck pointed at Phantom, "at what a _bad guy_ looks like!"

"But my mommy and daddy said Phantom was a good guy!" said a little boy.

"Mommy and daddy must not know about Phantom too well then, Tommy, because Phantom kills puppies!" The group of kids gasped in horror. "And he kills kittens!" Another gasp.

"He's lying! I'd never kill a puppy o-or a kitten! Ever!"

"Who are you going to believe? Me or that . . . _bad guy_ over there?" Chuck E. Cheese said, glaring at Phantom.

"This is unbelievable," Phantom mumbled, continuing to struggle against his restraints.

"What's unbelievable is that you kill bunnies too!" some of the children began to cry. "But fear not, little ones! For Chuck E. Cheese will put an end to Phantom's evil, once and for all!"

"Hold on just one second," Phantom shouted, still trying to free himself. "Kids, do you know that Chuck E. Cheese is an actual rat? A big, hairy, monster mutant rat?"

Every single pair of eyes widened simultaneously and slowly turned to look at the creature that was, supposedly, their savior. The rat looked at them with a nervous smile. "Well, you know, I'm not a monster or a mutant, but-"

"RAT!" one of the little girls shrieked. "IT'S A RAT!"

"My mommy said rats have RABIES!"

"RUN AWAY!"

The kids began screaming and running in all directions. Phantom suddenly noticed the absence of a particular aspect of the fun-zone.

"Where are all these kids' parents?"

Chuck looked away from the fleeting children and grinned. He snapped his fingers and Phantom watched as the multi-colored spheroids in the ball pit came to life and rolled out of their containment. Every adult that had been in the building was lying underneath, bound by the same ghostly tickets that Phantom was. Looks of terror, helplessness and confusion were etched onto their faces.

"Couldn't have them spoiling my fun, could I?"

"You're one crazy pest, you know that?"

"You could say that. But who would believe you? When the police find you here with the blood of these families on your white gloves, how will they react to tales of Chuck E. Cheese committing the murders? You'll be killed without a second thought."

"I take it back. You're _insane_!"

"Be that as it may, you can't escape. I call the shots here, and I say that you need to be out of the picture."

"Why? So you can take over the world using your chain of restaurants as your headquarters?"

The rat cackled at Phantom's assumption. "You are probably the stupidest ghost I've ever seen. What use would I have in taking over the world? I'm only here to clear this area of obstacles for my master, the Turpetrator."

"So he picked a children's icon to do his dirty work? Let me guess, The Turpetrator is a giant yellow bird that lives in a suburban neighborhood? Or is he a big purple dinosaur that hangs out at schools?"

Chuck rolled his eyes and suddenly began to dissolve. The process did not complete itself, however, and the rodent soon became an oozing pile of green ectoplasm. Solid red and angry eyes stared at him and the grin that had been filled with two buck teeth now displayed rows of razor sharp fangs.

"And now I'm guessing he's at least five times as ugly as you, mister-"

"Bertrand, you insolent vermin. My name is Bertrand."

Phantom looked at his adversary for only a moment before bursting out in hysterical laughter. "Oh God, dude, you can't be serious!" Phantom was nearly convulsing against his restraints from the laughter. "How do you expect anyone to take you seriously with a name like _that_?"

Bertrand growled at Phantom and flew over to him, grabbing the ghost boy by the neck. "Not many live long enough to _have_ to take me seriously."

"Why's that?" Phantom said while catching his breath. "They laugh themselves to death after the introductions are out of the way?"

The green mass grinned and hovered backwards. "Not exactly." The ghost quickly manipulated its body, expanding and contracting in all the necessary places until he stared at his adolescent opponent through the eyes of Barney the dinosaur.

"You could seriously open up a business and do kids parties. You'd be a worldwide sensation. Oh, hey! Can you do one of those telletubbies?"

The purple and green dinosaur's face contorted into recognizable anger before twisting into something completely different. His entire body began to shudder and bubble. Bertrand soon became a swirling mass of green ectoplasm that grew large with each passing second. Suddenly, a rather large reptilian foot stepped out of the vortex and connected with the ground. Then another. A rather large tail emerged from the hind end and curved around to point its rather large spiked tip at the youthful specter. A rather large ridged snout became visible as the spinning tornado of energy began to cease. Finally, the full body of the saurian attained visibility.

Phantom gaped at the creature before him. It wasn't rather large at all. It was massive.

"I love you!" Bertrand sang the familiar tune as he ripped Phantom from his binding and tossed him into a wall. "You love me!" The deadly spikes at the end of the ghost's tail slashed at Phantom's abdomen, drawing ectoplasmic blood. "We're best friends like friends should be!" Bertrand grabbed Phantom by the arm and swung him through the air, smashing him into various machines and lighting fixtures. "With a great big hug," Bertrand brought Phantom close to him and squeezed him against his scaly chest. The dinosaur grinned as he heard Phantom's back snap. "And a – you know what? Let's skip that part," Bertrand mumbled as he tossed the battered, beaten and possibly dead ghost into his maw. "Won't you say you love me t-"

Green smoke began to pour from Bertrand's adopted nostrils. He looked around in puzzlement as to why he would be expelling the smoke from his snout before the realization that his mouth was on fire hit him.

Of course, it didn't hit him nearly as hard as the explosion that blew open the uppermost part of Bertrand's snout. Blood and hunks of morphed flesh flew in all directions, painting the Chuck E. Cheese's' interior a sickly green color.

"You know something?" Phantom said as his hands glowed an ethereal green. "My parents always thought Barney was a ghost and never let me watch the show growing up. I guess I should thank them."

Bertrand was in the process of reassembling his snout when a powerful beam of energy, crackling with electricity, hit him squarely between the eyes. The reptile bellowed in agony as the blast tore into his skull and sent him careening into, and out through, a wall. The large purple beast smacked into the road outside, causing all traffic to screech to a halt. Pedestrians only took a moment to assess the situation before running off in panic.

Phantom flew out of the building, pausing only a moment as he allowed his spine to fully heal. The ghost then spotted Bertrand, only instead of on the ground, he was in the air. And instead of a giant, evil Barney-esque monstrosity, a lethal looking bird was flying around in circles. The strangely familiar coloration of Bertrand's newest manifestation didn't settle right with Phantom for the simple reason that he could not conjure up where he had seen the big bird's color scheme before.

_Wait. Big . . . Bird? Big Bird!_ Phantom slapped his head.

The bird that now plummeted from the air bore only a faint semblance to the PBS character. The ends of the feet sported sharp talons, and the beak was lined with biologically inaccurate teeth. Sadly, that didn't make it any less threatening.

Phantom pumped both his fists forward and let out a stream of energy. To his delight, the green rays looked more like electricity than standard ectoplasm. The force of the continuous assault propelled Phantom to the ground and he steadied himself with his feet. Bertrand was traveling too fast to dodge was quickly engulfed in a sea of pain.

"You're a master of kids stuff, Bertrand; you should know that flying type poke'mon are weak against electricity!"

The massive, ghostly incarnation of Big Bird fell from the sky and impacted the street for a second time, creating a cloud of dust in his wake. Before Phantom could move in for the kill, a massive, armored appendage shot out from the dust and stabbed into Phantom's left shoulder with its stinger. He cried out in pain as Bertrand emerged from the crater he made as a hulking scorpion. The ghost's pincers snapped menacingly as the ghost was drawn in closer.

"Game over, you little brat!"

"I don't think so,"

Phantom closed his eyes tightly and built up as much energy as possible within his body. Leaving it with no place else to go, Phantom's eyelids opened and released the torrent of energy from his pupils. The twin beams lanced through Bertrand's arachnid head and the concussive force of the attack sent him sprawling back into a nearby building.

Seeing that the shape shifting specter had been adequately exhausted, Phantom smiled in relief as he reached for his thermos – only to find that it wasn't there.

"Dang it! Of all times to not have a thermos! I wish I hadn't forgotten it for the umpteenth time this-"

"Your hearts desire is my command," chimed the unnervingly familiar, mysterious, echoing voice.

Phantom looked around for the source of the voice, but suddenly stopped as he felt a weight unexpectedly tug at his belt. Phantom reached around and gasped as he felt the familiar metal that composed one of his father's most useful inventions. The ghost boy unclipped the Fenton Thermos and aimed it at Bertrand's still recovering body. The beam of light shot out of the opening in the thermos, hungrily advancing towards its target. The silver light slammed into Bertrand and began to break down his molecular structure in order to fit him inside the device. The ghost was too weak to even threaten his own return as the silver energy pulled him inside the container.

"Well, that was weird. Looks like I have a guardian genie . . . ghost . . . thing watching my back. Now to check on those adults."

Phantom flew over to the nearly-destroyed Chuck E. Cheese's building. He grinned as the parents rushed over to their terrified children who had sought refuge behind the ticket booth during the confrontation. He was about to leave when the unmistakable sound of the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle rumbling down the road greeted his ears. He turned around in time to witness the RV bustle its way through the abandoned vehicles, destroying as few of them as possible. Jack and Maddie then expertly leapt from the modified moon roof on the top of the RV and landed with equal skill on the ground. Both of them looked around, scanning the area for the ghostly offender that had alerted their sensors.

"Uh, hey there," Phantom said apprehensively.

Even in the days following his return, Danny's parents had taken a decidedly hostile stance towards Phantom. And since he was Phantom at the moment, he wasn't sure just how hostile they had become.

"You!" Jack said aghast. "What are you doing here?"

Maddie looked around at the carnage that surrounded the area. "Did you do all of this?" Her rifle never left from its aimed position on Phantom's head.

"Uh, n-no! No, I didn't do this! But I caught the ghost that did," Phantom tossed Jack the thermos containing the defeated Bertrand. "Be careful with that one, he's a shape-shifter."

"Don't tell us how to do our job, spook," Jack said through gritted teeth.

Phantom sighed. "Look, I know you two are probably mad at me for being remotely involved in what happened to Danny, but you can rest assured now that I no longer permit him or the other two to accompany me on patrols."

"Well that's awfully sweet of you, but so long as you continue to associate with our boy you put him and everyone he knows in danger," Maddie said in a relatively neutral voice. "We understand that you are a vital point in keeping this town safe from other ghosts, but if you get Danny hurt again, we won't hesitate to reduce you to a puddle of green slime."

"That goes double for me," Jack growled.

Phantom rolled his eyes and flew away. He was convinced, now more than ever, that his parents would never accept him for what he really was. He would have to work even harder to gain their trust as Phantom before he could reveal to them that he was actually their son.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Not really a cliffhanger, unless you consider everything I left unanswered . . . purposely, mind you. And don't worry, Bertrand's got som 'splainin to do, and do it he shall. _

_Now, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THIS CONSPIRACY? It continues to conspire against me and, when they think I've gone into withdrawal and I come back, they don't even update. Only when I update do the swarms come in. Am I being self-centered, egotistical, and a bit megalomaniacial? You bet I am. But not without probable cause. _

_Only 18 more reviews until the contestant winner of the contest I created wins the contest uncontested! The announcement won't be made until the update that comes after the 700th review (for example, if the 700th review is for this chapter, I'll address it in the next one) and the winner will be notified via PM one I figure out who it is. You know if everyone reviewed this chapter_ en masse _then the wait will be over! But I know you all. This chapter will get 12 the one after will get 7, and then nobody will review it ever again. Which is why I've decided to remove this story from Fanfiction altogether._

_Thanks all of you for sticking with me through all this. Keep your eyes peeled for my next Danny Phantom story, where I magically get sucked into Danny's world, get ghost powers, fall in love with Sam, get adopted by Vlad, steal Tucker's friendship and Jack, Jazz and Maddie's family love, save the world, defeat my evil future self and Danny's evil future self, beat the Ghost King again, hire the Fright Knight as my man servant, shoot rainbow beams from my face and eventually take over Danny's life altogether, JUST LIEK IT SHUD BE MMMKAYZORZ????_

* * *

_lol, just kidding_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, especially_ MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, Skye-chan, slyfoxx, Last Samurai Ryu-san, Warrior of winds, TDG3RD, Thunderstorm101, Fulcon, Writin' Dude _and_ artbug.

**YOUR TONGUES CAN'T REPEL FLAVOR OF THAT MAGNITUDE!**


	60. Conquest of Desire 4

Chapter LXVI

Danny looked at the clock that hung above his television nervously. His anxiety was a direct result of his friend Tucker; more specifically, Tucker's presumptuous attitude and, even more specifically, Tucker's decision to go on a double date with Paulina and Star. Tucker was becoming more of a liability than an asset, but that was to be expected when hormones started overtaking the brain.

Danny absently flipped through channels, not even bothering to look at what was on as his eyes constantly drifted back to the clock. He silently cursed the plastic black pointed arms as they continued their monotonous rotation. Each miniscule tick seemed to draw him closer to – what? What was so terrible about going on a double date? Tucker would be there with Star and he would be there with Paulina.

And therein laid the problem. Danny couldn't put his finger on why, but for some reason the prospect of igniting a relationship with the Hispanic beauty goddess didn't sit well with him. But why? She was gorgeous; from his previous conversations with her Danny had figured she was fun and intelligent, for the most part, and she was interested in him. Those were more than enough reasons, but it still didn't feel right.

Danny struggled to find the answer to his dilemma. He searched his feelings, slowly and meticulously reviewing everything in his mind for a reason that he would even be the slightest bit apprehensive about dating Paulina.

Then it hit him. In actuality, Paulina was not the most physically attractive person he had ever met. She definitely was not the first girl to take a romantic liking to him. Danny felt his face paling as the mental image of the one female that fit that description formed in his mind's eye. And through his mind's eye, Danny found himself looking at Penelope Spectra. So sickened by this prospect was Danny that he rushed to the bathroom in record time. A shame; his lunch had been most delicious.

* * *

Bertrand felt like shit. There were no other words in any language, be it Ghost Zone or physical realm, that could adequately describe how he felt and no babied or watered-down version of the word could attain the accuracy needed to convey his feeling. 

The ghost was aimlessly floating in the all too familiar void of ectoplasm he called home. After being loosed into the Ghost Zone after his particularly humiliating encounter with Phantom, what aim could he possibly have?

Bertrand was contemplating the myriad ways his pathetic life could go on when his unguided floating was abruptly halted by a heavily muscled and even more heavily armored torso. The green blob opened his eyes weakly and found his red optical receptors staring into two glowing, blood red eyes.

"Turpetrator," Bertrand said with a very weak smile. "How ya doin?"

"I've been better," the warrior sneered. His voice produced a strange yet menacing echo behind his helmet. "Of course you obviously share my sentiments."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Bertrand sighed as he righted himself in the gravity-devoid abyss. "But I can't imagine you've put up with what I had to a few hours ago."

"Hours?" the Turpetrator asked bemusedly. "You suffered your defeat at the hands of the ghost child three days ago!"

Bertrand grinned. "Been that long?"

"Yes."

"Bummer. I guess I gave you and the _Mrs._ plenty of time alone together, huh?"

The Turpetrator's eyes narrowed; his way of smiling as his face was constantly concealed by his helmet. "Yes, and for that I am eternally grateful."

"Well then it was time poorly spent," Bertrand said in a scolding tone. "You should have been whipping your useless seed into competency."

Bertrand was easily dwarfed by the Turpetrator. The hulking titan of a ghost stood over seven and a half feet tall and each square inch was just as intimidating as the last. However, the words of the noticeably smaller ghost held the stench of truth; and truth was something the warrior was not in the habit of hiding from.

"You . . . are right. Upon her return to the Ghost Zone, she managed to hide from Desiree and myself. Her reappearance is relatively recent and time to reprimand her for her inadequacy has been short."

"I see." Bertrand rubbed his chin. "Perhaps I should accompany the child in her latest mission. I guarantee that she won't fail you completely this time."

"That would be most welcome, but I should warn you; the situation has become more complicated than originally speculated."

"And what is this supposed to mean?"

"Phantom is mastering a new ability and Desiree believes that his is close to discovering his subconscious desire for Spectra, if he hasn't found out already."

"And how is that a problem?" Bertrand was very much awake.

The Turpetrator looked upward and rubbed the area on his helmet that covered his temple. Bertrand often wondered if his friend's helmet actually _was_ his head. "I am unsure. But it does not bode well for the mission."

"I will do everything I can to ensure that this plan will not fail. Your victory over Plasmius is as important to me as it is to you."

The warrior nodded silently. Bertrand had once been very close to the Dairy King and his son. They had been his friends.

* * *

Phantom tapped on Tucker's bedroom window impatiently. The African American teenager look at the floating specter nonchalantly before opening the window. 

"Alright dude, what is it you have to tell me so badly? We're going to be late!"

Phantom touched down on Tucker's floor and let a surge of electricity wash over him, changing him back into his human form much faster than his traditional method. "I've got a huge problem, and you're the only person who could possibly hope to understand what it is that I'm going through . . . maybe . . . kinda . . . hopefully . . ."

"Out with it!" Tucker growled.

"I still like Spectra." Danny said quickly.

The four words hung in the air for over a minute. Tucker, having had ample time for his mind to comprehend what he had just heard, sat down in his computer chair calmly.

"Ok, I'll get to that momentarily. First things first, why on Earth would you think I'd be able to help you out with this one?"

"Who else would I go to?"

"Uh, Sam? She's a girl, you know, a girl that totally likes you, by the way, in case you didn't notice."

"Not now, Tuck," Danny sighed. "Besides, do you know how incredibly angry Sam would be if I came to her with this news flash? She'd turn me into a full ghost!"

"I think _angry_ is be an understatement," Tucker mumbled.

"Plasmius is a definite no because, well, she always comes to me to try and ruin my life. And the Guys in White would try to kill Spectra if I told them."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Danny scrunched up his face in confusion. "I don't know, damn it! I'm so freaking confused right now, I think my head's going to explode."

"Alright, look, just calm down. Have a seat over there," Tucker motioned to another chair in his room. Danny sat down in the chair and sighed as he sank into the cushion. "Look, it's natural to have feelings about your first girlfriend after you've broken up. Now your case in different in so many ways, but the same principles apply. This is probably some pent up emotions that surfaced after your breakup with Valerie. Your mind is probably trying to help you cope by bringing your strongest emotions to the forefront, which just so happen to be the ones you felt for Spectra."

"But why her? Why now?"

"Well I'm no psychologist, but my best guess is that your ghost half has a powerful hold on your subconscious. Since Spectra is a ghost, your ghost half is probably feeding you the powerful emotions that it fostered for her as an attempt to make up for the loss of Valerie and the hurt you felt when you discovered she was the Huntress."

Danny chuckled. "You should consider a profession as a psychiatrist. You'd be great!"

Tucker smiled. "I'm a math guy. Besides, I don't have the patience to listen to people complain about their problems. It takes an advanced kind of smart to be able to handle that stuff."

"Well now that we have that out of the way, I'll move on to the next part," Danny cleared his throat. "I can't go with you tonight."

"What?!"

"Look, I can't explain why I'm feeling what I'm feeling for Spectra-"

"I just did."

"-right. Still, that doesn't change the fact that the feelings are there. I just feel uncomfortable going out with anyone right now. At least until I get everything in order upstairs," Danny tapped on his head.

"Dude, do you know how many guys would kill to be in the position that we're in right now?"

"Tucker, this is high school. You won't remember Star's last name after just the first semester in college. Come to think of it, I don't know what it is now."

"It's-"

"Never mind that. Look, just call Star and tell her to tell Paulina that I can't make it." Danny let the surge of electricity wash over him, changing him into Phantom in the blink of an eye.

"What am I supposed to tell her? That you like another girl who happens to be a ghost?"

"You're smart, you can think of something."

"And where are you going?"

"To get help."

Phantom flew through the wall and out into the city leaving a very upset Tucker in his wake. With a scowl, the human child retrieved his cell phone and dialed Star's number.

* * *

Phantom flew through the streets, looking for something – anything – that would give him an answer to his problems. 

"Mommy, can I get that?" a little boy asked as he peered in through a window of a toy store. His gaze was settled on an old, old toy. Phantom recognized it from an equally old television show.

"No, Bobby, not today," the boy's mother replied as she whisked him away from the window.

The little boy continued to stare at the window. He pouted as he rounded a corner and the toy vanished from sight. "I wish he was real," the little boy mumbled.

_That's it!_ Phantom thought. _All I have to do is wish for something and that creepy voice will send out Gertrude or whatever that ghost's name was! I can see if he knows anything about it!_

_Oh, but what are the odds of Borland knowing anything about what I'm going through? He's probably never even heard of Spectra!_

_Hey, come on now, that's not a very positive attitude!_

_Who are you?_

_I'm you, idiot._

_Oh, right._

"_**Your heart's desire is my command!"**_

_Ok, now that was definitely not me. _

"HOARRRRRRRRG!

"And _that_ was someone else entirely," Phantom said as he flew around the corner the little boy had appeared from.

He was suddenly knocked back as a concussive blast rushed through the air, shattering all the windows within a hundred meters. People began to scream and panic. Car alarms blared through the streets and horns honked at pedestrians who tried to scramble over the vehicles to get away from the blast.

But it was not the explosion that had scared the civilians. It was the creature that had created the explosion that had sent them fleeing in terror. Phantom's jaw dropped as a massive, metallic red dragon emerged from the flaming building. Smoke wafted from his nostrils from the prior burst of flame. The evil yellow eyes darted around, looking at the fleeting humans before him. The massive beast took several steps forward, inspecting his environment.

"What is this?" the dragon asked in a hauntingly familiar voice. "Where am I?" the beast tapped an almost invisible button on his shoulder. "Rampage, Inferno, converge on my position at once." There was no answer. "Rampage, are you there? Rampage? Inferno? Dinobot? Waspinator? Is anyone out there?! Answer me!"

"Don't know who you're talking to on your little walkie talkie," Phantom shouted as he flew in closer. "But they can't help you now!"

"Human filth! How dare you talk to me in such a way! Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Sorry, but I was learning to shoot guns when you hit the shelves." The dragon looked at Phantom, clearly not amused by his remark. "The name's Phantom."

"Well Phantom, you're about to learn a lesson in respect! Megatron, TERRORIZE!"

The ghost boy looked on in shock as the memory of a certain cartoon show where beasts engaged in some kind of war with each other. What was that show called? Oh right. Beast Wars. Phantom watched as the dragon's body spontaneously reassembled itself, shifting and rotating until the dragon resembled a humanoid robot.

"And you're about to learn a lesson about the twenty first century!"

"Which is?"

"Those darn kids have no respect at all!"

Megatron roared in anger and let a stream of fire erupt from his dragon head, which had taken the role of the robot's left arm. Phantom dodged out of the way, but the Transformer kept his aim steady. The trail of flame eventually subsided and Phantom moved in, firing his own blasts. Each one only seemed to shake the massive robot.

"Oh, the human has super powers! A pity that you are hardly at Waspinator's level of combat. Otherwise this battle may have been interesting! _Yeeeeeeees!_"

"Oh man, I completely forgot you did that _yeeeeeeees_ thing. You know drawing out words only leaves you open for an attack?"

"It hardly seems to be a problem for me, human. Your attacks are disgustingly primitive. I'll be surprised if you manage to chip my paint!"

"You don't have paint!"

"Exactly!"

Phantom growled and fired a blast of electricity from his hands. The electricity washed over Megatron, sending him into a spasm.

"W-what is t-t-this f-foolish-shness?" the robot stuttered.

"Something that works, I guess," Phantom said more to himself.

Megatron roared as the wave of energy passed through him and prepared to attack again. A tank shell had other ideas. The round slammed into the robot's torso, exploding on impact. Megatron was sent crashing into a two story building, which collapsed on top of him following the impact.

Phantom looked from the crash site to the source of his unexpected salvation. Agents 089 and 02 stood atop a strange tank vehicle holding rifles in their hands.

"This is Agent 02 to headquarters," Mike said into his communicator. "The target has been neutralized, I repeat, the target has been neutralized. Send the Dragonflies to our coordinates to retrieve the target."

Jackson hopped off the tank and walked over to Phantom. The ghost boy grinned at the government agent, but received no such facial expression in return.

"What's up?" Phantom asked as he hovered over to the taller man.

"My salary. At least it better be after all this," Jackson gestured to the incapacitated robot. "This is the fifty-eighth attack by some sort of creature in the last two days."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, and it gets weirder. Every single creature we've taken down matches a fictional entity that is or has been featured on a children's television show or something to that effect. We took out Doc Ock this morning down by the docks. And right before we got here we had to save an old woman from Kermit the Frog."

Phantom's eyes widened. "So what do you do with all these things?"

"We take them to our Center for Ectoplasmic Sightings and Studies and Protection Of Original Life."

Phantom paused for a moment. "CESSPOOL?"

Jackson shrugged. "It keeps people away. At least that's what it's supposed to do."

"Hasn't been working that well as of late," Mike said as he walked over. "We've had three attempted break-ins; all of them left ectoplasmic trails."

"Ghosts were attacking a top secret government facility? What do you guys have there?"

"Sorry kid," Jackson said, keeping Mike from answering. "Eighteen and over."

Phantom mumbled incoherently, but it was quickly drowned out by the sounds of two helicopters. The Dragonflies were startlingly similar to their namesake. Each one had a sleek, aerodynamic body, an extended tail segment and four insect-like appendages that were folded underneath the bulk of the machine.

The one Dragonfly hovered over the felled Megatron and extended its mechanical legs. Each one stabbed into the robot's body and slowly hefted it into the air. The second Dragonfly, which was visibly bulkier than the first, kept its weaponry trained on the unmoving mechaniod. The two vehicles quickly vacated the premises, heading in a southeast direction.

As soon as the helicopters disappeared, Mike's communicator began to crackle with static. The man tapped the device on his arm. "Go ahead."

"This is Operative L. We're currently engaging a target that matches the entity known as . . . as Pikachu."

Jackson sighed and checked the ammo counter in his rifle. Mike rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Sure your Poke'dex isn't broken?" the Caucasian man said with a smirk.

"Positive."

"Well than capture the little yellow fur ball. Complete your collection."

"Negative. I already have a Pika – WATCH OUT!" a zapping sound filled the communicator, followed by several screams. "Son of a bitch! Medic! Get those men to the chopper! The rest of you, defensive maneuver Omega!"

"What's going on over there?" Mike shouted into the com.

"Little monster just took down four of my men. Looks like third degree electrical burns, poor bastards. Get the Dragonflies to my position, Grid Zulu."

"Sorry, the Dragonflies just finished off the Beast Wars over here and are escorting Megatron to the base. Just hold your position for another half hour and the Drag-"

"Half an hour? We'll be dead by then, Agent! Get over here pronto! We could use that tank!"

"Roger that. We're on our way." Mike switched off his communicator. "You heard the man, let's go."

"I'm coming too," Phantom said confidently.

"No you are not," Jackson stated firmly as he walked back to the tank. "You still need to recuperate from the shadow ghost incident."

"I'm fine!" Phantom protested.

"Scanners say differently," Mike said as he opened the hatch and climbed in. "Your ectoplasmic energy has yet to synch up with your biophysical structure after being disoriented by the shadow ghost. Give it another week and you'll be back to normal."

"But I'm fine!" Phantom whined.

"We've got us a modern day Luke Skywalker on our hands," Jackson said as he climbed into the tank.

"During or post ANH?"

"During. Definitely during."

"I concur."

Phantom sighed as the tank rolled down the street in the direction of wherever the rampaging Pikachu was. Several minutes later, a loud BOOM echoed through the city and a high pitched squeal announced the death of the pokemon.

But by then Phantom was sitting atop the tallest building in Amity Park, which was arguably the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. He knew all he had to do was wish for the solution for his problem, but that was obscenely vague. He needed to be more specific, find the root of his problems.

And that's when, for the second time that day, a realization hit him. It made him almost sick to his stomach, but he knew it was the only way he could figure out why he was feeling the way he was feeling.

Phantom took a deep breath. "I wish Spectra was here."

"_Your heart's desire is my command!"_

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Danny finally comes face to face with "his heart's desire" again. Just wait until the next chapter, you'll see. In further news, I stayed up until four last night writing the synopsis for the rest of the first season, suffice to say that the remainder of this season will be wonderfully wierd. And no, this isn't the crossover. This just happens to feature some popular characters from other forms of entertainment._

_And I was kidding about ending the story there, but it strangely attracted the largest amount of reviews in the shortest amount of time, so I'll just have to do stuff like that more often._

CONGRATULATIONS to slyfoxx for winning the 700th review contest thing. However, if a reply is not given within the week, the contest will be withdrawn and reset to a later review number. For winning the contest, slyfoxx gets to create an original character for this story. Slyfoxx also gets the link to my secret DeviantArt account.

_Speaking of reviews, let me thank everyone who has contributed to the ever-expanding number. _Fulcon, leadfoot352, Skye-chan, Lt. Commander Richie, Silverline Scimitar, Writin' Dude, sparky333, hydraling110, darkbunny92, Amras Felagund, TDG3RD, Tevagirl 16, Thunderstorm10, Musicallity, Orochigin, MissMeliss4251, slyfoxx, Vasell, Bitchy Princess _and _Theripula.

_Sorry if I spelled your name wrong, I've never had to thank so many people at once. If I did, let me know in a review and I will make a little paragraph for you in the next A/N. _

**FREEDOM IS THE RIGHT OF ALL SENTIENT BEINGS**


	61. Conquest of Desire 5

Phantom watched with a warring mind as the all too familiar silhouette of Spectra flickered into being before him. His emotions were in such a state of turmoil that his vision blurred, making it hard to see the ghost as her body was transported from the Ghost Zone to the physical plane. Phantom struggled to keep a focused mindset.

**She intrudes upon the safety of mankind! **

_**She blesses us with her presence!**_

Phantom's head reeled. The voices in his subconscious . . . had returned? But how?

_What are you doing here? I thought you were destroyed with Shadow Phantom!_

**We exist as a part of you. Our fates are sealed. Intertwined as one.**

_**Our paths are the same. Forever.**_

_What are you talking about?_

"What the – where am I?"

Phantom looked up at the curvy figure floating in front of him. Part of him was enraged. The other was delighted.

"You're in Amity Park . . . again," Phantom replied. "I wished you here."

Spectra glared at the source of the voice before recognizing Phantom. "You?" she said in bewilderment. "You wished me here?"

"Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but everyone's wishes have been coming true lately."

"_Mother_," Spectra whispered. "Well why me? If I recall, you tried to kill me the last time we met."

Phantom sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Remember the incident with me turning into a monster a few days ago?"

"A few days ago?"

"I meant in the literal sense."

" . . . A few days ago?"

"When I turned into Shadow Phantom."

"Oh, so that's what you called yourself," Spectra grinned. "Pretty lame if you ask me."

Phantom sighed. "After that whole thing passed, something's been nagging at me. Up until now I couldn't figure out what it was."

"And it is . . . ?"

The ghost boy looked to the skies for some sort of intervention. Nothing happened. "I still like you."

Spectra floated in place, stunned by the words that had just emerged from Phantom's mouth.

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"You tried to kill me!"

"You tried to kill Sam!"

"Well electrocuting someone to the point of demolecularization seems a bit drastic, don't you think?"

"No, not really."

Spectra flew around Phantom, studying him from her vantage point. "So you still like me, huh?"

"I think so. And I need to know why."

"Is that why you pulled me out here? To ask me why you still like me?"

"I guess so."

"Well," Spectra flew in close and rested her hands on the ghost boy's shoulders. "I could think of many reasons any guy would like me. In your case, though, I'm at a bit of a loss, seeing as how you tried to kill me."

"Do you know anyone who would know?"

Spectra flew around back in front of Danny. "You could try asking my father."

"And where would I find him?"

"From what you've told me, that should be the easiest problem to overcome." Spectra winked at Phantom. "Now then, I wish I was back in the Ghost Zone."

"_Your heart's desire is my command!"_

A swirling green vortex opened up in the sky feet above Spectra's head. She flew into it before it sealed and disappeared from sight. Phantom looked after her, part of him saddened, the other relieved. He sat atop the building long after the sun had gone down. The sounds of the city had given way to the sounds of combat as the GIW fought off legions of mismatched creatures concocted by the imaginations of children all over the town. The ghost boy pondered what Spectra had said about finding her father, but dismissed it. He wasn't up for fighting anyone – or anything – else. With an uncharacteristic amount of laziness, Phantom took to the skies and made his way home.

**Reject your feelings for her.**

_**NO! EMBRACE THEM!**_

**You've already failed Sam once. **

_**For a greater love!**_

**For a manipulated love.**

_Please, just shut up. I'm not in the mood._

* * *

Agents 002 and 089 entered the GIWHQ. Their steps were uncoordinated. Their postures were slouched. Wariness was visible even through their rock solid expressions and imposing sunglasses. In short, they were beat. Twenty four straight hours of combating make believe creatures would do that to any man. 

"You know something?" Jackson said tiredly.

"What's that?"

"I don't think even half of those things existed in any sort of fictional works."

"I agree," the Caucasian man said as he opened the door to their office. "I don't remember reading about evil azalea bushes in X-Men comics."

"Or little yellow dinosaurs that turn into giant skeletons."

"Nope, that one checks out," Mike sighed as he collapsed into his chair.

"No way," Jackson followed suit and plopped down on the couch.

"Way. That was Agumon. Digivolved into Greymon. Then to Skull Greymon. I think that's the wrong order, but I'm not the one who wished for it, am I?"

"Why do you know this stuff?"

"One of us has to. And speaking of this stuff, did we get all the Transformers to the cryo-chamber?"

"Yes. And thank God we did. Megatron was starting to wake up just as we got him here."

"I thought I told you to keep religion out of the workplace, soldier. Causes more problems than we need, especially at the moment," a low, menacing voice said from the open door. Jackson and Mike looked at the doorway in shock and struggled to stand up. "Please, stay seated. You two deserve that much."

"Agent X," Mike said to the tall, burly African American man in the doorway. "We didn't know you were making an inspection."

"Didn't announce it, son. This isn't something I want all the underlings to be eavesdropping in on." Agent X kicked the door behind him, closing it. "You two are being upgraded."

"A promotion?" Mike asked. His body was no longer as exhausted as it had been.

"You could call it that. You will be stripped of your Agent status and assigned an Operative letter as soon as I leave this room."

"What's the occasion?" Jackson asked.

"The junior agents we have on the field are responding better to operatives than to senior agents. Currently, the only operatives that exist are L, M and N. L is responsible for recruiting SPOOK 005, M is responsible for recruiting SPOOK 006 and L managed to scrounge up the remains of a prototype ghost portal discovered at Wisconsin University. The Letter, as the other Agents are calling it, is bestowed upon exceptional officers for exceptional achievements."

"What would ours be, sir?" Mike inquired.

"As if you have to ask," the larger man chuckled. "You're the first two Agents to engage a human-ghost hybrid. You even managed to avoid hostile confrontation with it."

"I believe you mean him, sir. Phantom isn't called the ghost boy for nothing."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mike, when one of them murders your whole family."

The other two Agents fell silent. Nobody ever prodded the past out of fellow Agents as each were hand selected by a higher power based off of spectral encounters that occurred during their younger years. Not much was known about the enigmatic Agent X, but his passion was driven solely by revenge. And that was all than anyone needed to know.

"Now then. I will send someone by with the papers authenticating the upgrade within the hour."

"Yes sir, thank you, sir," Mike said with a tired salute. Jackson mimicked the gesture.

"As you were, gentlemen," Agent X turned and walked from the room, leaving the two newly-appointed Operatives alone in their office.

* * *

"- and then she said," Tucker said enthusiastically. 

Danny held the receiver away from his ear, as Tucker's voice had steadily risen in the measly twenty seconds they had been on the phone. He sat at his computer staring at the Figgle homepage with a blank expression. His mind was too restless to allot any of its attention to the drivel spewing from Tucker's mouth.

**You have been tainted!**

_**Cleansed!**_

**She is an enemy! **

_**Angel!**_

**Kill her!**

_**Love her!**_

**Make her beg for your mercy!**

_**Make her beg for your -**_

_Whoa, whoa, hold up there . . . me. Let's not get carried away._

**Ah! The conscious mind allies with my influence!**

_The hell I do! Your little escapade almost got everyone killed!_

_**He allies with me!**_

_Yeah right, making love to a shadow ghost is just what I want to do._

_**A shadow ghost that is curvy in all the right places. Besides, I never went into specifics.**_

_You're part of me – my mind and . . . stuff like that. _

**That's correct! He knows of your perversions before you grotesquely communicate them to him, you fiend.**

_**That's only because he's thinking them first!**_

**Because we exist as one!**

_Damn it shut the heck up! Between you morons and Tucker, I'm losing my mind!_

"Danny? You there, dude?"

"Yeah, I'm here Tucker. Go ahead; what was the thing now about the . . . thing?"

"You weren't even listening, were you?"

"Alright, truth time." Danny cleared his throat. "The shadow ghost that messed me up? It left two parts of its subconscious influence behind. So while you've been talking, tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumbass were having a shouting match in my brain."

"Wow. Sucks to be you."

"Sometimes. No, I take that back. Most of the time."

"Care to tell me what they were arguing about?"

"Spectra."

"Ooh, touchy feely emotional stuff. Ok, I'll let you three have your discussion about Spectra's boobs. I'm going to bed, you know, after hitting the town with Star and Paulina. It can really," Tucker snickered, "_tucker_ you out!"

"Good night," Danny said before hanging up. "Wait, how did he know we were talking about Spectra?"

_**What else is there to talk about?**_

**Plenty! **

_Guys? Uh, me's? Can you please shut up? I want to go to bed._

_**Very well, but we must agree on at least one thing first.**_

**Unlikely, but go ahead and try.**

_**. . . She is very well endowed.**_

**Agreed. If we weren't already in a relationship with Sam we would hit that. And not violently.**

_**Indeed.**_

_Well we – I mean I'm not in a relationship with Sam._

_**Then why are we sitting around here?!**_

**BECAUSE SPECTRA IS A HEATHEN!**

_Guys, come on, seriously._

**Oh, right. Sorry.**

_**Sincerest apologies.**_

Danny pulled his blanket up to his chin, ignoring the independent voices in his head. The warm material covered his prone form while his mattress cradled him. Before too long Danny Fenton was sound asleep, safely secluded from the incessant nagging of his others.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_You didn't think I, the mighty Grumbles, forgot about this, did you? Ha ha HA! Writers' block. Seriously, I've been bogged down lately. Here's a small update for your troubles._

_-Got contacts, learned how to use properly.  
-Reserved Halo 3 Legendary edition  
-Reserved John Woo Presents STRANGLEHOLD  
-Disocvered a HARDWARE FAILURE in my 360, pending repair  
-Saw Transformers 5 times, Superbad once, Rush Hour 3 once  
-Getting pumped for my senior year of high school._

_So yeah . . . I think my biggest problem is that I REALLY want to get to the late 2nd - early 3rd season, but I'm stuck back here with a whole crapload of stuff I still need to write all essential to the overall continuity. _

_Sorry this chapter is so short, and I can't make any guarantees for later ones. But at least I did it, right?  
Oh yeah, reviewer 2100 decides how the character from the 700th reviewer contest bites it. That's way far off, so I'm sure the Paper Shredder will have plenty of time to amuse you. As soon as I figure out how to stick him in this mess._

**Ha ha HA! Oasis.**


	62. Conquest of Desire 6

Phantom flew through the streets of Amity Park at incredible speeds. He chanced a look over his shoulder and cursed his bad luck. The Silver Surfer was still hot on his tail. The chase had been going on since earlier in the morning and had rudely interrupted Danny Fenton's happiness over the announcement that school would be canceled indefinitely until the crisis situation was under control.

His mood was worsened as the Silver Surfer fired a blast of silver ectoplasm at him. Phantom fired his own blast to intercept the Surfer's and the explosion did considerable damage to the surrounding buildings. A large chunk of debris collided with the Silver Surfer and knocked him from his board.

"Can't handle the waves, dude?" Phantom called out with a grin as the fictional entity smacked into the pavement below.

The ghost boy flew over to the hovering board and lowered himself onto it. His appearance was instantly altered at a gooey silvery substance covered his body.

"Alright! Look out Amity Park, the _Silver Phantom_ has arrived!" Phantom shouted jovially as he willed the board to move.

Instead, it melted; taking Phantom's new look with it.

"Well crap. That was lame."

"No, your self appointed moniker was lame," Operative O called out from the streets below as he aided his officers in cuffing the Surfer.

"Yeah, it was." Phantom rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed that Mike's whole platoon had heard his declaration.

Instead of goofing off on his extended vacation, Danny had decided to assist the GIW in fighting off the legions of mismatched beings that had been spontaneously appearing. He had also taken it upon himself to find Spectra's mother, the source of the turmoil, although the means of finding her eluded him.

"So what's the situation?" Phantom asked as he lowered himself to the ground.

"This sector's clear for now," Mike replied tiredly as he wiped his brow. "Jackson's on the other side of town with his men cleaning up and Operative L is sweeping the center sectors."

"So in other words, FUBAR?"

"Pretty much. Any updates in your search for the cause of all this?"

Phantom hung his head. "No. Apparently this wishing ghost doesn't grant every wish she hears. I've asked her to stop granting wishes, I've asked her to show herself, I've wished for her to drop dead-"

"But she's a ghost," Mike said quizzically.

"Yeah, didn't get that until after I wished for it."

"Bet not," Mike mumbled. "You better get back to your search. If you find anything out, let us know."

"Will do," Phantom said with a grin. He fired a blast of ectoplasm from his feet, propelling him into flight. With a quick salute, he was gone.

* * *

"He wished death upon you?" the Turpetrator fumed as he turned from the optical portal to look at his wife. "That maggot, he shall-"

"My darling, his efforts are futile. Do not waste your energy."

"The only reason he knows of your existence," the Turpetrator growled, "is because you permitted our daughter to visit him. For what purpose?"

Desiree sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Phantom has discovered his feelings for her."

The Turpetrator rounded on the third party in the room. "How did this happen?"

Johnny Thirteen, currently displaying his shadowy alternate form, shrugged. "Beat's me," he hissed in his bestial voice. "I planted the feelings in his mind just like you ordered."

"He discovered them too early!" the hulking warrior roared. "The operation is jeopardized!"

"All I did was give him some help in finding them. I didn't jeopardize any operation."

Desiree glared at the biker. "What sort of help?"

Johnny grinned maliciously. "Two segments of my consciousness reside in his mind. One is brilliant, calculating and enamored with Spectra at the moment. It encourages the punk to embrace his feelings for her. The other half is brutish, aggressive and sees your offspring as a threat to Phantom. And, for whatever reason, it favors the dark, brooding girl Phantom always pals around with. Neither are fully developed yet, but that shouldn't take _too_ long . . ."

The Turpetrator moved closer to the shadow ghost. "What was your reason for doing this without my-" Desiree elbowed her husband "-_our_ permission?"

"You've been spying on him for a while; you should know his friends call him the clueless one for a reason. If I hadn't given him some assistance, he would have died thinking too hard about it. This way, he can become enraged at himself and maybe even anger other people at the same time. The more of that malice floatin' around the better, right?"

"Absolutely," Desiree cooed. "This will make your job easier-"

The Turpetrator held up a hand, silencing his wife. "What are the long term effects?"

Johnny's smug grin split into a full blown smile. Razor sharp teeth showed themselves and parted as the heinous creature spoke again. "The influences will become stronger over time. Their constant presence will drive Phantom insane . . . before killing him altogether."

"Excellent," the Turpetrator said, grinning behind his helmet.

Unbeknownst to the scheming trio, another ghost watched on. The news of Phantom's mental state was even better to her. Plasmius disappeared in a wisp of pink smoke, having heard everything she needed to.

* * *

Phantom floated through the wall of Tucker's bedroom. He barely noticed the other two figures in the room before his transformed into Danny Fenton and collapsed on Tucker's bed.

"Long day?" Tucker asked absently as he threw the boy's jacket on top of him.

"You have no idea," Danny groaned as he looked at his friend's alarm clock. "Ten thirty. Can you believe that? I've been fighting every super hero and super villain I can think of since breakfast! It's ridiculous!"

"Poor baby," Sam said from her chair in the corner of the room. "All wiped out from his date with Magneto and the Muppet Babies."

"I'll have you know-" Danny said as he sluggishly turned to face Sam. His eyes snapped fully open and he sat up straight on the bed. "That I don't know who you are!"

Sam threw a chapstick at her friend, pegging him right between the eyes. "It's me, you dolt."

"Sam?" Danny asked in shock as the entirety of his friend's new appearance settled in. "What the – why'd you dye your hair?"

"I un-dyed it," she grumbled.

"Really?" Danny scrunched up his face. "When?"

"Yesterday. In fact, it was this color at Paulina's party."

Danny's mouth opened and closed several times as he was trying to think of something to say. "I don't remember that," Danny proclaimed.

"Strike one," Tucker interjected as he typed away at his computer.

"That's right," Sam said angrily. "You were too busy noticing your shirt that I was wearing-"

"Strike two."

"and, since you did that over a webcam with half our class watching, I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it."

"And strike three. Dude," Tucker swiveled his chair to look at Danny, "your batting record's horrible. You're never going to get a home run at this rate."

"_**TUCKER!**_" Danny and Sam shouted in unison.

The African American boy smiled and returned to his computer. "Shutting up, shutting up."

"Wow," Danny rubbed the back of his neck with more pressure than normal. "I feel like a jerk."

"You should."

"I do. I just wish there was something I could do to make it up to you."

Both teenagers quickly glared at Tucker, who was in mid spin in his chair with his mouth already open. He closed his mouth and allowed the chair to do a 360, returning him to his work.

"Luckily for you, I don't hold grudges against friends," Sam said with a weak smile as she got up off the chair.

"That's good," Danny said with his own happy grin.

"But don't think that means I'm not mad at you."

"Of course not, no, never!"

"Good. Now fly me home, ghost boy. My parents are going to be getting back soon and my grandma isn't there to cover for me."

"Your heart's desire is my command," Danny said as he transformed into Phantom. He scooped up his friend and held her bridal style as he fazed out of the room.

The chilly night air whipped around the two teenagers as Phantom flew above the buildings. He racked his mind, trying to think of something to say.

"I really am sorry," he said sheepishly, finally breaking the silence. "I mean, you're my best friend, I should have-"

"Save it," Sam interrupted. "You're not called the clueless one for nothing."

"Guess so. But seriously, you've been dyeing your hair all this time? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't know. Guess I didn't feel like it."

"Well you look great. I mean, not that you didn't look great before, but-"

"Thanks, Danny. I appreciate it."

Phantom stared at his friend for a while before accepting her response. "Here we are, the Manson . . . er, mansion."

Sam giggled as Phantom fazed into her room and set her down on the floor. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed-" Phantom trailed off as he recalled fending off monstrous insects for a better part of the afternoon. "Well, sleep tight."

Phantom turned intangible and floated out of Sam's room, taking to the night skies with a sense of resolve.

_**YOU FOOL! SAMANTHA IS A HARLOT! WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO ASSOCIATE WITH HER?**_

**HE IS PURSUING TRUE LOVE! DO NOT INTERFERE, YOU ABOMINATION OF SENTIENT THOUGHT!**

Phantom dropped like a fly and crushed a mailbox beneath him as he hit the ground hard.

_What the HELL? _Phantom stood from the small crater he had formed and shakily rubbed his head. _Why so loud!? We're in the same head!_

_**You betray your true love by chasing that disgusting mortal girl. **_

**He does the human race justice by abhorring that pathetic excuse for a female you call Spectra.**

_Both of you stop it! This is ridiculous! I can't even think in my own head without people interrupting me!_

**See what you've done? You've angered him!**

_**Your persistent nagging is what caused him to fall!**_

**I was making a point! Daniel has no feelings for Spectra and wouldn't have to think of her putridity if it wasn't for you!**

_He has a point, _Phantom decided. _I really don't think I like Spectra. Tucker's theory pretty much hits the nail on the head._

_**What does he know?**_

**More than you!**

_**Oh really?**_

_Well you're part of my mind so you're a part of me, so that means you're a, what, C average student? Not exactly the level needed to compete with Tucker's brain._

_**You weren't always a C average student.**_

_I am now, which means you are too. _

**And thusly, your presumptions of what he needs are incorrect!**

_**Don't forget that, by Daniel's logic, you too are only at the intelligence level of a ninth grade C average student.**_

**One only needs common sense that Samantha is a better choice than Spectra.**

_Why don't both of you just shut up right now? This is my head, you're only visiting._

_**WRONG! **_Phantom clutched his head from the pain of the outburst. _**We are as much a part of you as an arm or leg. Removing us is not an option.**_

**I don't want to agree with the necrophiliac, but he is right. **

_**We are fused with your mind on such a level that only a genius could ever remove us. Even then the process would be impossibly difficult and would, very likely, result in your demise.**_

_Well then, since we're stuck together forever, let's have a little chat._

Phantom took to the skies and landed on a building not too far off from Sam's.

_How did you manage to stay in my mind? I thought you had been removed when I was separated from Shadow Phantom._

_**Shadow Phantom, as you so primitively call him, was an agent of the Turpetrator. Your encounter, symbiosis and subsequent rampage were all planned out in advance by his wife, his comrade in arms and himself. **_

_His what?_

**Desiree is the Turpetrator's bride. Together they spawned the demon Spectra.**

_**She is not a dem-**_

_Stow it. And his comrade?_

**Bertrand, the shape shifting ghost that called you away from Baxter's party.**

_Well what do they want with me?_

_**It is a long, arduous story. Many finer details would completely go over your head and the overall significance would be lost. I believe a condensed version is in order.**_

**Ten years ago, Plasmius came across information that told of a sword. This sword, the Odium Blade, was fabled to endow the wielder with unimaginable power by feeding on the hatred of those around it.**

_**When impaled by its blade, the victim becomes enraged. The curse of the Odium Blade is contagious and quickly spreads from one sentient being to another. The Turpetrator is powered by this energy.**_

**Plasmius managed to find the Odium Blade in an ancient castle deep in the unknown regions of the Ghost Zone. By activating it, she released the Turpetrator from his three millennia long prison.**

_**The Turpetrator lost the ensuing battle, but with the aid of an unnamed ally, he managed to recapture it. The Odium Blade had been tainted by the use of a human, and the Turpetrator swore revenge on Plasmius for her desecration of his sacred weapon.**_

_So where do I come in to all of this?_

_**I'm not DONE YET!**_

**A large amount of hatred is needed to cleanse the blade and restore it to its former glory. However, one of the effects of Plasmius' use is that it can no longer create hatred.**

_**The Turpetrator must generate enough natural animosity so that the blade can purify itself. By then he believes you will have been driven mad by our presence. He plans to use the Odium Blade on you at the peak of your infuriation.**_

**When the blade absorbs your ghostly energy in its enraged state, your regenerative abilities will provide the Turpetrator with a renewable source of powerful hatred which he will use to slay Plasmius and exact his revenge.**

_**Another, and very likely, outcome of all this would be the Turpetrator's conquest of Earth.**_

**With your energy powering him, the Turpetrator would easily bring the people of Earth under his heel.**

_Wow. And that was the condensed version?_

_**The time for repartee is over, Daniel. It would not surprise me if the Turpetrator knew of our presence already.**_

**If that's the case, he will be eager to get his plan underway. His wife will, at the very least, double her creation of fantasy creatures to place you and the rest of Amity Park under intense stress.**

_I already tried getting to her, but nothing is working!_

_**Then perhaps it is time you utilized our knowledge. By yourself, you stand a snowball's chance in Hell against Desiree, let alone the Turpetrator.**_

**While our bickering will remain constant, it will not impede on your survival. If you die, we go with you.**

_**And although we might want to kill each other, that doesn't mean we actually want to die.**_

_Really, _Danny thought sarcastically_, I'm amazed._

**You might also be amazed to know that you can't simply fly into the Ghost Zone all willy-nilly and expect to triumph over the wretch's parents. **

_**She's not a wre-**_

_Alright then, _Phantom said, cutting off his other_, what's the plan?_

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Faster update, longer chapter, and a cliffhanger to boot! Ha ha HA! Doppleganger. Hooray for 70th chapter, hooray for Phantom Planet tonight and hooray for Optimus Prime. I figured he could use one._

_No, Danny's not going to start calling himself "we" like Venom. I already did my ode to him. And I think a certain contest winning person's character is set to make a debut in the next chapter . . . and get the living ectoplasm beat out of it._

**DIAGNOSIS: FRACTURED ASS**


	63. Conquest of Desire 7

"I must say, I'm very impressed that you have the audacity to follow through with this plan. It is foolish, reckless and will fail miserably, but it is still impressive."

Danny Fenton shot a menacing look at the toad-like ghost sitting on the edge of a table in his parents' lab.

"The last thing I need from you is sarcasm, Skulker. Now you're absolutely sure this is going to work?"

Skulker fired a tiny ectoplasmic beam from his index finger, hitting Danny in the neck. "The suit? Yes, for the thousandth time, you will be able to interface with the suit flawlessly. Your _plan_ is what won't work."

"And, for the thousandth time, thank you for the vote of confidence," Danny retorted, rubbing his throat. "It really isn't that hard, if you think about it."

"You're right. Use my suit to fight off the Turpetrator and Desiree and who knows what other ghosts he has working for them, defeat them all and take the sword. It isn't hard at all, if you're trying to get yourself vaporized."

"I never said I was going to steal the sword."

"Then what, pray tell, were you going to do with it?"

Danny's expression was solemn. "Stab the Turpetrator with it."

Skulker looked on in bewilderment. "You're going to stab the Turpetrator with his own sword?"

Danny only nodded as he transformed into Phantom.

"That's suicide! The blade is forged from the very essence of hatred! Stabbing the Ghost of Malevolence himself with it could destroy you both!"

"The blade is tainted," Phantom said in a distant tone. "It doesn't have enough power to do that. If I'm right, stabbing him with the sword will taint it further and diminish his power."

Skulker cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"Let's just say I'm well informed," Phantom replied coolly as he turned intangible and entered Skulker's mechanical exo-suit.

The familiar robotic face twitched as Phantom's neural systems interfaced with the suit. Black flames erupted from the top of the steel skull. The eyes glowed the same color, and a small flame burst from the chin.

Phantom looked through his new eyes at a mirror on the far side of the room. "Why all the black?" he asked, only instead of his own voice, Skulker's mechanical one relayed the query.

"Black is your primary color. I assume that's how the flame pattern works."

Phantom looked over his shell in fascination. "I'm having second thoughts about giving it back to you when I return."

"_If_ you return," Skulker corrected in his high pitched voice. "My combat suit wasn't designed to withstand direct attacks from level nine ghosts."

"Level nine?"

"Never mind that. Daniel, this is doomed to failure. I do not doubt your abilities as a combatant, but you are nowhere near powerful enough to lock horns with the Turpetrator. Your odds of survival are astronomically low."

Phantom began slinging various Fenton weapons over his adopted robotic shoulders. "I have to do it. Even if I die, I win."

Skulker floated over to Phantom and hovered in front of his face. "How so?"

"The Turpetrator wants to use my rage so he can kill Plasmius and take over the world. I'm not thrilled about my actions saving Plasmius' life, but there are billions of other lives at stake. And if he becomes as powerful as I think he could, there'd be nothing to stop him from conquering the Ghost Zone too."

Skulker shook his head. "Fourteen years old. Not old enough to operate a motor vehicle, not even through the ninth grade and here you are, willing to sacrifice your life so that others may live. I'll never understand you humans and your courage."

"It isn't courage," Phantom grumbled as he installed twin Fenton Thermoses in his forearms. "It's the right thing to do."

Phantom slammed a fist into the OPEN button on the wall. The yellow and black striped doors slid open revealing the menacing swirling vortex that led to another dimension.

"If you're right," Phantom said as he stared into the abyss, "and I don't make it back, take care of them. Keep them safe."

Phantom activated the thrusters in Skulker's boots. Collapsible wings unfolded and reached out past his shoulders. Thrusters on the wings activated as well and the robotic husk lifted up off the ground. The ghost boy checked the dual wielded ecto-bazookas in his robotic hands before blasting off into the Ghost Zone. The slimy substance that made up the portal shimmered as the ghost boy entered. It quickly settled leaving a very distraught Skulker alone in the Fenton's laboratory.

"I'll do my best," he said sadly. "I'll do my duty."

* * *

Prince Aragon stumbled to the ground. His medieval robes dripped with fluids from his containment cell, and more of the stuff was coughed to the floor where it amassed in a puddle. The ghost prince looked at his murky reflection in horror. He was . . . alive.

"What is this," he croaked. His deep, commanding voice had not fully returned. "Where am I?"

"You're in Wisconsin, one of the fifty states within the United States of America."

"I know what Wisconsin is," Aragon snapped, feeling patronized. "And I know who you are."

"Do you now? When I haven't even revealed myself?"

"I know you – your voice, your scent. It still sickens me, the stench of lies and unthinkable atrocities against innocent life."

"Then your own scent should gag you," Plasmius spat. "You, who agreed to further my goals in exchange for nothing more than a free meal."

Aragon stumbled to his feet and looked in the direction of the voice. "I was . . . not myself."

"Indeed? Then why do you wear this Amulet of Aragon if you detest what it makes you become?"

Aragon's eyes widened in horror as the amulet materialized out of thin air before him. His hand instinctively reached for it, but he jumped back as Plasmius appeared in the same manner, her hand grasping the chain that held the Amulet.

"My brother betrayed me." Aragon said absently. "He killed my sister and laid siege to my kingdom before defeating me. Even in my more powerful state, I was unable to defeat him on the physical plane, but he eventually met his demise."

"Hmm," Plasmius looked at her right hand, which was balled into a fist. "And, refresh my memory, what happened after?"

"I was reunited with my kingdom in the Ghost Zone. Using my powers I hunted for my brother while keeping my people safe."

"But your obsession, finding the Knight of Acrimony and slaying him as he had slain you, caused you to abandon your people. They were left to defend themselves against all the horrors the Ghost Zone had to offer. It was nothing short of a miracle that they managed to survive the reign of the Pariah Dark of that era."

"I lost touch with what little humanity I retained. I cast aside my duties as Aragon and gave in to Terrakor."

Plasmius waited for the revived ghost to continue, but he remained silent. "And now?"

"I give up on my hatred towards him. Defeating him will not restore my kingdom, it won't right the wrongs he made and it . . . won't bring back Dorothy." Glowing purple tears trickled down his face.

"You may be right about your kingdom and the justice drivel, but Dora," Plasmius chuckled. "Well," the ghost hybrid pressed a button on a device strapped around her wrist.

A translucent cylindrical containment chamber identical to the one Aragon had been held in slowly rose from the ground. Suspended in the liquid floated the petite form of a young woman, no older than twenty. Her expression was serene, as if she was in a peaceful sleep. The hole in her torso told a different story.

Aragon stumbled over to the tank and leaned up against it. His lip trembled as he looked up at his long-thought deceased younger sister. "H-how did you-"

"My methods of acquisition are my own. She has been in various forms of suspended animation since I found her body. Physically, she has not aged since her death. That is all you need to know."

"But she was slain almost five hundred years ago, how did you-"

"I told you, my methods of acquisition are my own. Now, I'm sure you wish for her to be revived, am I right?"

"Yes! Yes, please! I will do whatever you ask!"

Plasmius strode past the prince. "Your brother was adopted, correct?"

"Y-yes, but what does that have to do with any-"

"You two became close friends, almost like real brothers."

Aragon nodded silently, stunned by Plasmius' knowledge of his former life.

"But he came to you one day, imbued with unimaginable power by unknown means, and offered you the amulet. You two dreamt of conquest, but he wanted to test his powers on your own kingdom. You and your sister opposed him and she paid the ultimate price for her decision. You forfeited your life in combat, leaving the Knight of Acrimony to freely devastate your kingdom."

"How do you know all this," Aragon asked sternly, his voice returning.

"Unbeknownst to you, the Knight of Acrimony was merely an agent of the real threat, the Turpetrator. The Knight's single goal was to grant a mortal enough power to enter the Ghost Zone by sheer force of will. The portal would allow the Knight to enter the spectral realm and awaken his master. Unfortunately for the Turpetrator, the Knight failed."

Plasmius activated a holographic projection which showed Phantom in Skulker's robotic shell preparing to engage ghostly warrior. "The Turpetrator is why your kingdom burned to cinders. He is why your sister hovers between life and death."

Aragon felt a familiar feeling rise in the pit of his stomach. His eyes flashed a brilliant shade of red. "What must I do?"

"Defeat the Turpetrator. Kill him if you so desire, it matters not. I want his sword brought to me, if possible. Preferably intact. The ghost child is using the mechanoid shell. My only condition is that he survives. Ensure his wellbeing and Dora will be restored to life."

Aragon bowed before the vampiric ghost before him. "It will be done."

Plasmius tossed the amulet that she had been holding towards the prince, who deftly caught it. He slipped it over his neck and felt the familiar energy surge through his body. His form contorted, shifted and elongated. Within seconds, Aragon floated before Plasmius in the all-too-familiar form of Terrakor.

"_**If I am defeated again . . . take care of her. Keep her safe."**_

Terrakor glanced over at the containment chamber that held his sister. With a low growl, he took off into the active Ghost Portal at the other end of the laboratory.

Plasmius' grinned. "No promises."

* * *

"I must thank you, ghost child," the Turpetrator spoke as Desiree and Bertrand appeared on his sides. "You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down."

"I'm the one doing the hunting here," Phantom growled through Skulker's voice modulator. The deep tone was becoming a bit annoying, but at least the Turpetrator was not making fun of him. "And it looks like I found my prey."

"You hunt me? I could crush you under my finger, boy," the warrior throatily laughed from behind his helmet. "But I don't want to kill you yet."

"I know all about your plan to use my anger to defeat Plasmius. Well I've got news for you; that's _not _going to happen."

Phantom fired twin blasts from the bazookas he had been holding. One blast hit Bertrand square in the face, the other tore into Desiree's shoulder. Having spent all the weapons' energy in the initial blast, he crossed the barrels in front of him, blocking a powerful downward blow from the Turpetrator. His blade bounced off the steel.

Phantom discarded the weapons and activated the chest-mounted zap cannon. A blast of energy lanced forth and pressed into the Turpetrator's stomach. The ghost was hurled back from the electric shock, leaving Phantom time to aim his arm-mounted Fenton Thermoses at Bertrand and Desiree. Bertrand was quickly vacuumed into the device, but Desiree managed to dodge the suctioning power of her designated thermos.

"Foolish boy, I cannot be incapacitated so easily," Desiree hissed as she lobbed ectoplasmic daggers at Phantom.

"I wish I had a sword of pure energy," Phantom shouted as he targeted the still stunned Turpetrator with his auto-firing laser cannons.

Desiree froze and, as if by its own will, her hand rose and twitched. Phantom found himself facing Desiree with the exact item he had requested. The light-blue blade glowed brilliantly in stark contrast to the dull, dimly lit greens of the Ghost Zone.

Phantom fired missiles at Desiree, who nimbly dodged them. Her trajectory led her right into the very blade she had conjured for Phantom. With a quick movement, Desiree's flesh wound was severely worsened. She cried out in pain as Phantom aimed his Fenton Thermos at her.

"My love!" the Turpetrator fired purple beams of energy from his eyes that blasted the thermos from its retractable mechanism. "You shall never harm her again!"

Phantom brought his blade to bear as the elder combatant advanced on him. The ghost boy was thankful for the enhanced strength Skulker's suit had given him, if only to withstand the furious blows of the Turpetrator.

"I will make sure you die painfully and without dignity, vermin!" the Turpetrator bellowed as he pressed his attack harder.

Phantom utilized the suit's sensor array and saw that Desiree was attempting to sneak up behind him. Her good hand had been transformed into a blade of her own. At the last second, Phantom spun out of the way of both his attackers. The Turpetrator's blade sliced through Desiree's like a knife through hot butter. She wailed in agony as globules of deep purple ectoplasmic blood poured from the open wound.

"Looks like I won't have to ever harm her again," Phantom jeered. "Better watch it, wouldn't want to contend with a domestic disturbance report from the neighbors, now would you?"

"I will tear out your heart and devour it before you have a chance to die!"

"Temper, temper! Looks like I'm going to need some help. Desiree, I wish I had another sword, this time made of adamantium and fused with ectoplasm."

The Turpetrator stared at his wife, who was sobbing as her arm involuntarily rose to shoulder level. "What are you doing?" the bulky warrior demanded. "Stop that at once!"

"I-I can't!" the ghost genie cried as the new blade appeared in Phantom's free hand.

Phantom lunged at the Turpetrator, who was momentarily taken aback at his wife's inadvertent betrayal. The strength of Skulker's suit allowed him to drive the Turpetrator back. Phantom knocked his adversary's blade aside long enough to stab his other one deep into the warrior's chest. Blood seeped from the wound and floated around in the gravity-free void.

"You fight well, but for a lost cause," the Turpetrator mused as he examined the hilt of one of Phantom's swords protruding from his body. "No mere sword can extinguish me. I am immortal!"

"_**I suggest you revise your statement, lest you be discovered a liar."**_

The Turpetrator gasped as Terrakor vaulted through the Ghost Zone.

Phantom was in a similar state of shock, but came to his senses in time to dodge the dragon. The Turpetrator was not so lucky and was violently slammed into by forty five feet of teeth, claws, scales and fury.

Phantom remembered his other, less dangerous, problem and turned to face Desiree, who had turned her tail into a sword. "Insolent child," Desiree spat.

Phantom used his sword to smack Desiree's own blade aside. And again, as she repeated her attempt to slay him. And again. And again. Phantom brought his zap cannon online and fired a blast that hit Desiree in her already wounded shoulder. She cried out in pain as an electrical current surged through her body.

"You are a vile and disgusting creature," Desiree choked out through muffled sobs.

"Duly noted," Phantom blandly replied as he backhanded the female specter. More blood and spittle filled the air as Desiree spun around from the force of the impact.

Phantom activated the grapple function on the arm that had lost its Fenton Thermos. The robotic hand retracted and was replaced by a four-clawed appendage. Phantom aimed it at Desiree's back and fired. The grapple made contact with her back and the claws snapped shut, two over her shoulders and two under her arms. The serrated edged dug into her flesh and she cried out once again.

"Amity Park, three days after you started your attack, is in total chaos," Phantom said angrily. He swung his grapple arm and slammed Desiree into a nearby floating rock. He held his grip on the ghost and the boulder shattered.

"The National Guard has been fighting alongside the Guys in White nonstop since day one." Phantom charged his free hand with ectoplasm and used the fist to punch Desiree in the face on her backswing. Her head rocked back, spraying more bodily fluids into the air.

"Over twenty people have been killed. More than one hundred have been wounded. Over half the city is without power. Looting and gang violence, almost unheard of before in Amity Park, runs rampant." Phantom blasted off towards a larger boulder and slammed Desiree into the surface. He touched down next to her and pressed one of his robotic boots into the small of her back.

"Mayor Foley has admitted that the city lacks the resources needed to deal with half the problems, and the damage done to the city will put us in debt beyond what could have ever been imagined. It is hypothesized that it would be cheaper to simply tear down the city and rebuild it." Phantom violently yanked the grapple from Desiree's back, tearing out whole chunks of flesh. "And it's all your fault."

The ghost genie's sobs were almost inaudible. "P-please . . . s-s-stop."

Phantom aimed his remaining Fenton Thermos at the back of Desiree's head and activated it. "So you have wished it, so shall it be."

* * *

Bertrand had been lying in wait inside the Thermos. When it opened to inhale another occupant, the shape shifting specter made his escape, turning into an invisible and intangible vapor. In his flight, his form passed through that of Desiree's demolecularized body. In the span of less than a tenth of a second, the two had known of the imminent failure of the Turpetrator's plan and had reached a decision. If he survived, there would be one person he would go after. Spectra had to be kept safe, at any cost.

* * *

"You cannot be alive!" The Turpetrator bellowed as he sliced at his draconian adversary. "I witnessed your demise at the hands of the ghost boy!"

"_**I have been restored to exact my revenge. Your minion felled my kingdom and murdered my sister before defeating me."**_

"He was a fool, failing to perform the simplest of tasks. His death at the hands of the Pariah Spawn took far too long."

"_**For centuries I believed the Knight to be you. The truth was even more hideous."**_

"Then you are as much of a fool as he was!"

The Turpetrator tore Phantom's sword from his chest and threw it at Terrakor. Before the adamantium blade could pierce the serpent's heart, a grappling hook snapped it out of the air and drew it back to the mechanical body that Phantom inhabited.

"Not today. Scaly's with me . . . right?" The dragon nodded in confirmation. "Super."

The Turpetrator was quickly out maneuvered. Terrakor loosed balls of fire at the warrior while Phantom flew in close and tried to land another severe blow. Then Phantom fell back, blasting away with whatever weapons Skulker had in his arsenal along with whatever weapons he had brought with him as Terrakor tried to bite, scratch and whack him.

"You fight about as proficiently as your hack of a wife," Phantom taunted as he tried to land a headshot on the warrior. "I guess it's no mystery as to who Spectra inherited her fighting abilities from."

The Turpetrator was jostled from his defense and lunged at Phantom. He swung his blade hard enough to knock the ghost boy off balance. An energy filled punch sent the robot shell hurtling through the air. The Turpetrator spun around and prepared to block an attack by Terrakor, only his Odium Blade sliced through the underside of the dragon's neck and cut deep into the flesh.

Phantom watched as the dragon lost its new lease on life. It soared over his head, the glow slowly leaving its eyes.

* * *

Terrakor felt life depart from him as the Turpetrator's blade cut his throat wide open. His vision steadily blurred, but he held on to consciousness like a raft in an endless sea.

_I failed you, Dora. I'm so sorry._

And yet, if the ghost child remained safe, there was a chance that Plasmius would follow through on her agreement. The dragon's tail brushed up against something and it quickly wrapped around the object. Repeated slices on his scaled hide revealed it was the Turpetrator. With the last ounces of his incredible strength, Terrakor squeezed on the warrior's wrist. A faint, yet sickening snap reached the serpent's ears and he let death embrace him once again. Third time's a charm . . .

* * *

Phantom saw the tail of the large dragon wrap around the Turpetrator's sword arm and squeeze until it snapped. The ghost boy, separated from Skulker's battle suit, flew at the now useless appendage and grabbed the sword from limp fingers. He transformed the moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the Odium Blade and by the time he was holding the weapon firmly, it was Danny Fenton staring the Turpetrator in the face.

It was Danny Fenton who then stabbed the Turpetrator in the chest and watched as the evil purple glow flickered out of the Turpetrator's eyes.

* * *

Plasmius watched with satisfaction as Daniel defeated the Turpetrator. The further desecration of his blade, coupled with the severe wounds he had sustained, would keep the meddlesome ghoul out of the picture for a good long while.

The female ghost now directed her attention to Dora Mattingly, sister of Aragon Mattingly. The prince had held up on his end of the bargain, keeping Daniel alive long enough to strike a crippling blow to the Turpetrator. While Plasmius was devious and often double-crossed her cohorts, this was a special case.

From the folds of her cloak, Plasmius withdrew another amulet, almost identical to Aragon's. In some respects, it was. The jewel in Aragon's amulet had been segmented in order to create the duplicate. The amulet's segmentation was what most likely resulted in Terrakor's death, not being at its full strength.

The gem in Plasmius' new amulet, however, was whole. Combined with the regenerative strand of Daniel's DNA, the broken piece of the gem had restored its lost half. Plasmius grinned as she turned her hand intangible and reached into the containment chamber. The amulet was slipped over the young woman's neck and floated aimlessly in the fluid.

A green light shone from the open wound in Dora's chest and it sealed over itself. A dim green glow sparkled behind the young woman's closed eyelids. Utilizing the stolen genetic code from Daniel, Dora had been restored to life.

Plasmius looked on in joy. She had succeeded in finally raising the dead.

To Be Continued

A/N

So, has Plasmius has finally done what she's been trying to do since the beginning of the story? Not quite yet. Will Dora make an appearance before the end of the segment? Possibly. And I forgot I had the Paper Shredder in the next chapter, not this one. And what's the deal with this Pariah Spawn business?

Dance you puppets of varying size and intelligence, dance.

**WE TAKIN' OVER**


	64. Conquest of Desire 8

"- and the rock was like _ka_-**BOOM**!" Danny shouted as he slammed his fist onto the hard plastic surface of the table for emphasis.

Sam and Tucker jumped back, awe and delight evident on their faces. Danny's pounding sent his Nasty Burger and fries into the air, scattering the fried potato strips and dissembling his hastily constructed burger.

"That's so freakin' awesome that Skulker let you use his suit to wail on those three," Tucker said as he inhaled his Triple-Decker Angus burger.

"Well, technically," Danny said as he took a sip from his milkshake, "I only got one. When I took the thermos back to the Guys in White, they told me only Desiree was in there, which means Bertrand managed to get out."

"But how?" Sam inquired. "I thought the thermoses were designed to contain all ectoplasmic energy."

"Well he was a shape shifter," Danny stated absently. "Maybe he can alter his genetic physiology and base molecular composition." His two friends stared at him from across the table. "What? I'm not allowed to listen to my parents when they blather on about ghosts?"

"No, you're just not supposed to understand them," Tucker corrected as he shoved a handful of fries into his mouth. "That's my job."

"Well anyway, I messed Bertrand up pretty bad," Danny said with a smug tone. "So the only thing he gets to use his freedom for is to lick his wounds."

"That still leaves the Turpetrator out there somewhere," Tucker commented.

Danny's air of self satisfaction was swept away and his smug grin melted into a discontented frown. "Even when he does recoup, he won't be doing much of anything to anybody."

"Uh, I don't want to be the wet blanket here-"

"Then don't," Tucker interrupted Sam as he viciously tore at the remnants of his burger.

"-but shouldn't you have captured the Turpetrator? I mean, you just left his body floating around in the Ghost Zone. If he's as powerful as you said he was, he will be back eventually."

"Well think of it this way," Danny countered. "If he is as powerful as I said he was, then the Fenton Thermos wouldn't be able to hold him for long. He could've broken out of it, and if he did so in the GIW headquarters, there would be one world government with one good reason to take me out."

". . . You didn't even think of it at the time, did you?" Tucker asked monotonously.

"No, no I didn't," Danny hung his head in mock shame.

"At least he's incapacitated and Spectra's out of the way for the time being," Tucker noted. "You'll have plenty of time to yourself without the constant intrusion of your future in-laws."

Sam kicked the boy next to her under the table.

"Guess not," Danny replied absently. "Now I can finally focus on getting my social life in order."

"And since the Hulk and Grimlock teamed up to take out the school, you'll have plenty of time to work on it with Dash's constant part-_ays_." Tucker grinned at the prospect as he finished off the last of his drink.

"Hey Fenton!" Dash Baxter shouted from the other side of the eating establishment. "Come over here!"

"Speak of the devil," Sam sighed as she took a bite of her salad.

Danny was already halfway across the Nasty Burger by the time the lettuce leaf entered her mouth.

"What's up, Dash?" Danny asked casually. He took notice of the rather large crowd of the popular students standing _en masse_ behind the tall blonde boy.

"Funny, Fenton, that's just what I was gonna ask you."

Danny looked around nervously. It was the first time in a long time that he had felt nervous around the people who had taken him in as one of their own. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure what's going on, but every time there's a ghost attack, you disappear from my parties. Not sure how you get out of the house, but you just up and disappear. Kwan tells me you never even bother to use the front door," Dash gestured to his Asian friend, who nodded. "And after we got together and thought about it, you seem to disappear from a lot of stuff every time there's a ghost attack."

Danny gulped nervously. His palms started to sweat.

_**Calm yourself, they cannot know you are Phantom.**_

**They may have found you out! DESTROY THEM!**

_**NO! This situation calls for rational thought. Now relax, Daniel. **_

Danny felt his palms dry out, as if controlled by some other force working in his body. His heart rate steadied and slowed from its erratic beats to the metronomic tempo he was used to. With his stress level reduced, Danny's mind cleared enough to formulate a response.

"So you figured me out, Dash," Danny said with an irritated inflection. He heard Sam and Tucker gasp from their table. "You finally found out that, every time there's a ghost attack, I get out to call my parents."

Dash raised an eyebrow. "Then how come you never come back afterwards?"

"Well as ghost hunters, my parents aren't too thrilled about the other person I have to contact."

Dash thought for a moment, but someone else spoke up before he did.

"Phantom?" Paulina squealed.

"Exactly. I have to get a hold of him after, but he isn't so easy to reach."

"So what, you just call him up on the Phantom hotline?" Dash demanded.

"Well no, not like that-"

"Save it. Its obvious you're just trying to cover your own ass."

Danny looked at all the faces of those who had once treated him as their friend. Almost all of them were looking at him like he had personally wronged each one of them.

"You can keep the shirt," Dash said as the group behind him dispersed. "But don't expect an invitation to _anything_ once school starts up again."

Danny watched as the tall football star turned and strode from the Nasty Burger, leaving him behind.

* * *

Operative K looked at the tattered and battered body of the ghost genie floating in suspended animation inside the containment cell at the GIW HQ in Amity Park. The tall, dark skinned man examined her wounds from his seat outside the cell. What would account for bruises covered most of her body. The right side of her face looked as if it had been blasted by a cannon at point-blank range. The rest of that side of her body appeared to have suffered the same treatment. The worst wounds were on her back in the shape of a hauntingly familiar X. 

"You gonna ogle her all night or are you gonna get to work?" Operative L asked from his seat across the room.

L was just as tall and muscular as Jackson and Michael, but his service record started some five years prior to the dynamic duo quickly becoming known as the "Knock-Out". His experience in the field had given rise to his own nickname, _Lieutenant_. While he was several steps ahead of most of his colleagues, L was one of the most approachable Operatives in the business.

"Just wondering why he had to beat her up so badly," K replied as he turned his attention back to his computer screen.

"They're ghosts," L murmered through a yawn, "Whaddya expect, a picnic or something?"

K grinned. "Not at all. Seems a bit uncharacteristic of our prepubescent Phantom, you know, going after a female ghost how he did."

"Maybe he was trying to make a point."

K lifted an eyebrow. "To what effect?"

"'S not like we treat him like someone we're gonna be hiring in four years, you know what I mean?"

"You think he wants us to treat him like an adult?"

"Probably. I mean, X doesn't treat us like babies, why should we treat Phantom any differently?"

"We can't just force him to man up to everything life throws at him." Jackson and L looked up to the balcony level of the complex to see Mike leaning over the railing. "He might think he wants to be treated like an adult, but since when do kids know a damn about what they want?"

"You've got a point." L conceded. He looked at the wall mounted clock and stifled another yawn. "I better check on Elliot."

K and O stared at Operative L with their jaws hanging open. "Elliot?" they asked simultaneously. "I thought he was incarcerated," K said in a low, angry voice.

"Still is," L confirmed. "I guess you two have been out of the loop, dealing with Phantom and this genie business and all."

"X ruled on his case personally," Mike said with an edge in his voice. "He's not due for his appeal for another five years."

"Yeah, well, those ecto-planarians did a number on him." L put a cigar in his mouth and lit it. He inhaled deeply and let the smoke billow out of his nostrils. "They got rid of the burned skin like they were 'sposed to, but then they moved on to his muscle tissue, then his bones and some of his vital organ systems. We couldn't risk removing them without killing the kid, so we had to let the worms do their stuff."

"So what's his status now?" K asked. While the Agent in Training had killed someone after he had put his own personal agenda into action, Jackson had felt somewhat responsible.

"We're attempting to use some of Phantom's regenerative DNA to put back what the worms ate," L explained as he took another puff of his cigar. "The boys down in the genetics department have been working nonstop since the incident at the observatory to isolate the strand that contains the regenerative properties. Last I heard they were pretty close."

"What effects will this have on Elliot?" O pressed in a hesitant tone.

"Hopefully, just bring him back to life. The worms made a meal of his heart and most of his brain before they kicked it. Any other side-"

"He's dead?" Jackson interrupted.

"Clinically, he's been dead since you let slip the worms of war. But we're living in a new age. The power to raise the dead is just a matter of finding the right DNA strand." L chuckled at his own musings. "Won't be long before the science lab supersedes the Holy Grail, and the Crusades take aim at capturing data instead of nations."

The man stood from his chair and walked over to a door on the far side of the room. He rested his thumb on a scanner next to the titanium-reinforced entrance and waited for the computer to grant him access. A green light winked on above the door as it slid open.

"As you were, gentlemen," L said with a salute as the door sealed behind him.

K and O looked at each other before slowly returning to their work.

* * *

Deep in the darkest voids of the Ghost Zone, a small tribe of ghosts was silently watching from the massive trees that encompassed their village. The object of the ghost's observation was the tribe's shaman, a ghost that held vast amounts of knowledge, and his companion, a stranger to the secluded and primitive corner of the swirling green dimension. 

The shaman hovered in front of the massive ghost that was his companion. He watched with understanding as the hulking specter lowered another heavily muscled being into a strange sarcophagus.

"Lia vundii severa estas," the shaman stated as he looked over the Turpetrator. "Gi estis dum antau li resanigi."

"My plan can carry on without him," the ghost said in a hollow voice. He looked up at the shaman with his solid black eyes. "Of course, he will be an invaluable asset when he is restored."

"Kio fari vi pensi li estis kunigi vi?"

"By the time the process is complete, the Ghost Zone and Earth will be very, very different. He will have no other option."

"Ne tro sangi mi espero?"

The ghost chuckled as he stood to his feet. "Your village will become a powerful empire one day, Bullet. No amount of change will disrupt your destiny."

The shaman grinned. "Vi sondi tiel certa."

"Call it a hunch," Walker said with an identical expression.

Bullet waved over several of his men to carry the sarcophagus to the ceremonial grave dug on the outskirts of the large floating island. The two watched the tribesmen fly off. Walker slowly hovered off the ground, by a hand gripped his wrist. The shaman waved out two more of his villagers; two young women, who were carrying a bundle of cloth between them.

"Donaco car vi," Bullet announced. "La profetajo havi ek. Lasi gi procedi en via favori."

Walker extended a hand towards the young girls. They lowered the bundle, which was almost as large as one of the girls, into his open hand. The pale ghost lifted the bundle up to his face and used his pinky finger to unfold the blanket. Beneath the off-white cloth was a wolf-like creature. It looked at Walker with curious, glowing green eyes before letting its tongue roll out of its mouth. The pup's tail wagged beneath the blanket in anticipation of whatever games the new ghost would devise to play with it.

Walker smiled down at the pup and rubbed the top of its head with the same finger he used to unfold the blanket.

"I am grateful," Walker said finally. He instantly regretted his selection of words. He was more than merely grateful for the pup, but his extensive vocabulary had failed him in the presence of new life.

Bullet nodded sagely. "Iri nun, venki la demono koni kiel _Danny Phantom_. La profetajo estis ordigi en movo kaj tempo estas de la esenco.

Walker let the pup climb onto his shoulder. Long, silver claws dug into his skin in order to steady itself, but the humanoid specter felt no pain. He grinned. _I have all the time I need._

Walker took to the air, leaving the ancient tribe behind in its dark corner of the Ghost Zone. He sped through the endless voids of ectoplasm, the grin never leaving his face as the momentum of his propulsion sent otherwise motionless air streaming over his face. The pup on his shoulder yapped in excitement as his master accelerated.

The massive ghost eventually slowed. His deceleration caused the pup on his shoulder to whine with disappointment. Walker chuckled and sped up just enough to appease the small furry ghost. A relatively small island appeared not too far off in the distance. A building took up almost the entire expanse of land. The ancient prison had been abandoned for centuries before being converted to suit Walker's purposes.

He touched down on the roof of the facility, letting the pup slide down his shoulder. It ran around in circles, sniffing out its new territory before lifting a leg next to a partially toppled pillar.

"Hey!" Walker growled. The pup ignored the ghost that was easily over twenty times larger than it and relieved itself on the pile of rubble. "Stop that," Walker said as he sent a tiny red beam of ectoplasm at the pup's tail.

"Having trouble keeping the rodents away?" said the hungry voice of a large green condor. "I'd be more than happy to assist you."

"Keep away from him," Walker spat.

Hans hyper-extended his beak and let his tongue wiggle in the air. "Blah, what's the point of keeping me around if you won't feed me?"

"Did you carry out your task?" Walker regarded the condor as he racked his brain to think of a name for the canine.

"I escorted the worthless green puddle to the Turpetrator's daughter, just like you said to," Hans sighed and preened his feathers. "Spectra's the one that, supposedly, needs protection. By the time she's done tending to Bertrand's wounds, the Turpetrator will have healed."

"Their continued survival is vital to my operation," Walker stated. He rubbed his forehead as the pup began to mark its fifth spot on the roof of the building. "You! Stop that immediately!"

Hans leapt from his perch and landed on a large boulder right above the pup. "That's a dumb name to call a puppy."

"I didn't name it yet," Walker grumbled as he crouched down and summoned the animal away from the condor.

"Well it's a wolf, isn't it? Just call it Wolf." Hans flew up to a higher perch as the pup charged at him with its extendable claws.

"That is also a dumb name," Walker said as he called the pup over to him again.

"Then just change the spelling," Hans offered. "Like a ph instead of an f."

Walker scooped up the small ghost and looked down at it as it tried to squirm away to continue marking its territory. "No. I think replacing the o with a u is better."

"Yeah, that's fine if you're gay," Hans mumbled as he scraped the sides of his beak against a rock.

Walker squinted his eyes at the condor. "I have another mission for you."

"Oh joy," the large condor sighed. "What does the master desire now?"

"It's time to make my presence known."

Hans glared at Walker. Anger flickered in his eyes. "You want me to go to Plasmius."

"Affirmative. She will, undoubtedly, set a series of events into place that will make my revelation to . . . Phantom all the more effective." Walker's forked tongue slithered around in his mouth at the name Phantom.

"It is more than likely that I will not return. Plasmius does not take kindly to traitors."

"Your wellbeing is none of my concern. What I am accomplishing is more important than you will ever be able to understand." Walker looked down at Wulf as the pup sat obediently at his master's feet. "But it something all life can appreciate."

Hans closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before taking to the skies. The condor understood what needed to be done. Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, maybe more would be lost in the battles that were to come, but each life lost would be necessary . . . in order to save the future.

To Be Continued

_A/N_

_Whoa, a little too much there, huh? WRONG! Well no, maybe it is. I don't care. I love blowing your minds. It hasn't happened since I revealed Plasmius, though. Or maybe I did. Hmm. Looks like I have some speculation to do as well, but not as much as you guys.  
I'm not sure if I want to close this segment here or do another filler chapter. I don't want to break the_ Rule of Nine_, but I don't want to have a chapter of_ just_ rambling. Oh well. I'll think of something._

_Sorry for the delay. As soon as I get started writing the_ **Reality Wars**_, the pace will definitely pick up. Oh, you don't know what I mean by that, do you? LAWLZ, s'pense/10!_


	65. Seeds of the Future 1

Seeds of the Future

Chapter LXXI

**The answer is forty two!**

_**No it isn't, you imbecile! It is twenty five over the square root of two!**_

**LIAR! You said forty two was the perfect number!**

_**You misinterpreted my meaning! Also, simply because it is the perfect number does not mean it is perfect for every situation!**_

**FORTY TWO! WRITE FORTY TWO!**

But it was too late. Danny had already put down the smarter of the two voices' answer and, in doing so, had completed his homework for that evening.

_You guys need to shut up every once in a while. It was hard enough getting used to you arguing about ghost fighting, but now you're doing the same thing while I'm trying to do homework. This has to stop._

"Danny, my boy!" The unmistakable voice of Jack Fenton resounded from the basement laboratory. "Come on down here, we have to show you something!"

"You better go, Danny," Jazz said as she grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. Danny had been so busy trying to contain the voices in his head that he hadn't even noticed his sister enter the kitchen. "Dad's real excited about this one. He's been working on it all morning," she paused before taking a bite from the apple. "Or he's been watching while mom did most of the important stuff. Either way, he's been hyped up about it for the last week."

"Yeah, I know," Danny said as he closed his book and shoved it uncaringly into his book bag. "I just hope it doesn't attack me."

Jazz nodded. "Their gear seems to have an affinity for you."

Danny inwardly shuddered. The last thing he needed was to be ambushed by some kind of machine as he walked down the stairs.

Danny made his way down to the lab; carefully making sure each step wasn't concealing a hidden attack device. Once he had safely made it into the lab without any altercations, Danny looked around. There were no laser sights targeting him, no crudely constructed robots rushing at him with flailing vacuum hoses and ecto-seeking torpedo launchers and no sharp objects buzzed past him in an effort to remove his head from his torso. _So far so good . . ._

"Look!"

Danny jumped back as a new device was thrust into his face, emphasized by his father's booming voice.

"That's great, dad," Danny said, getting his heart rate under control. "What is it?"

"I call it the Ghost Getter!" Jack exclaimed, beaming as if he had just won a prestigious award.

Danny looked at the device in his father's hand. It looked like a PDA, only with a small satellite attached to it and an on-off switch.

"What does it do?" Danny asked. Danny had learned to pay special attention to his parents' inventions, especially the ones that could potentially cause him pain. This one seemed harmless enough, but Danny always erred on the side of caution.

Jack raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak, but his finger sagged and his intelligently closed eyes squinted open, glancing at his wife.

Maddie smiled. "It locks on to ghosts using their invisibility powers. We found that ghosts use a series of chemicals to create the effect. The result is slightly more complicated. We think that every individual molecule can 'see' the world around it, and then project that image over itself. We're not sure how that works, but the chemical compound to trigger that mechanism is easy to detect, and that is what this device does."

Jack offered the device to his son. Danny inspected it, looking to see if it had any sort of weapon. Fenton inventions were notorious for having some sort of concealed, ghost-based attack mechanism. This one did not appear to house anything of the sort.

"We're also working on a weapon that can neutralize the chemical," Maddie continued. "The scanner would be able to detect the ghost's location, and then disable its invisibility power."

Danny's eyes widened. That could be a problem. Recently his parents had withdrawn their apparent 'cease-fire' that he wasn't aware existed in the first place. While they held off on using the heavier artillery, his mother had been quite adept at making sure he didn't leave the battle unscathed. Now hiding in plain sight was going to be a lot more difficult.

"But that is for another day," Maddie said, pulling her goggles and upper head wear back. "It's a wonderful Saturday afternoon, and nobody has any-"

Danny's phone chose that moment to ring. Tucker had made a song on one of his many illegally downloaded software programs just for Phantom called "Phantom". It was a catchy tune, and it had already been downloaded over ten million times on various music sites. Tucker had been offered a deal for the song, but declined, knowing that his method of producing the catchy tune would eventually come into question. Instead, he kept all rights of production and allowed the people of the world unlimited access to it, free of charge. Not the most economically sound plan, but it probably saved him from a world of legal trouble. Danny was quick to withdraw the phone from his pocket.

"Tucker," he said in greeting. "What's up?"

"The plaque on the arcade's men's room door is up for grabs, if that's what you're asking."

Danny's jaw dropped slightly. "What?"

"It's true," Tucker said in an amused tone. "Some punk eighth grader came waltzing in here like he owned the place and is currently going to town on Crash Nebula: Asteroids Ahoy. He's either spoiled rotten or gets a nice allowance, 'cause his pockets are practically vomiting quarters."

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed with relief. "I got five hundred million points on two quarters."

"This kid has four hundred and seven million, eight hundred and fifty six thousand, two hundred and ten points, and there's no end in sight; for him or his quarters. Oops, make that four hundred and eight mil-"

Danny had already jammed his phone into his pocket and was flying out the door before Tucker realized that he had lost the call. Danny ran into an alley across the street, safely away from the recently discovered cameras his parents had installed around the house God-knows how long ago. Once he was safe from prying eyes and lenses, Danny concentrated on the ghostly energy within him and let it out. The familiar bright green ring appeared at his waist and split, encompassing his entire body. Once they had completed their vertical journey, they dissipated, leaving the white haired, green eyed Phantom in Danny's place. Phantom took to the skies in all his jumpsuit-y glory and sped off towards the arcade.

* * *

Tucker smiled evilly at the little boy as his head hung in defeat. Crash Nebula's death at the hands of some horrible monster was playing over and over again on the screen with the words GAME OVER superimposed over him. His final score was only several hundred thousand points away from the all-time champion, D-stroyer Fenton; a god among geeks.

The eighth graders posse had disbanded, feeling embarrassed to associate with a loser of such magnitude. Sam exited the ladies' room to see the last of the brats clear out.

"I missed it?" she asked sadly.

"Yup. Kid used all his rockets on the mini-bosses and had nothing to go up against the big guy with. And when he got killed the first time, he ran out of quarters."

Sam joined Tucker in shaking her head. "Pity. I'd love to see the look on Danny's face if he had his precious plaque taken down."

Tucker chuckled as he sipped from his extreme-sized cherry cola slushie, causing him to choke and sputter as some of the delicious partially frozen nectar went down his wind pipe. After regaining his composure, he resumed his chuckling.

"I know the real reason you wanted that kid to lose." Tucker smiled as he drank, but this new effort failed, as some of the slushie dripped from the corners of his mouth and stained his white shirt. Tucker cursed and tried to wipe it off, which only succeeded in making it worse.

"And why is that?" Sam asked, placing her hand on her hip and striking a very stern girlish pose. "Mister 'I can't hold my slushie down'."

Tucker scowled. "When the standing champion loses, they either keep the plaque in their hall of fame or copy it and give the original one to the person's significant other. You knew Danny wouldn't be here in time to see them take it down, and we're probably two of the only people who know that rule. As soon as that brat took Danny's crown, you wanted swipe his plaque and frame it on your mantle or something."

Sam opened her mouth to reply, but could not think of anything to say.

"That's what I thought. Sam, he's had two girlfriends already and both of those were definitely under stranger circumstances-"

"Tucker, don't start-"

"If you just told him how you felt. Or, better yet, just start hanging out with him alone more. He'll have to get the hint eventually."

Sam glared at her friend.

"Ok, fine. Have it your way. But if you keep procrastinating, he's going to find another Spectra or another Valerie; one who isn't a ghost or hell-bent on killing him, and you're going to miss your chance."

Sam sighed. "Tucker, just stop, please? I'm really not in the mood," she said as she ran her hand through her newly died black hair. Most of anyone who had seen her with her platinum blonde look had either forgotten or decided not to care. Sam was content keeping it that way.

Danny decided to burst into the arcade at that moment, an almost animalistic rage burned in his green eyes. "Where's the twerp?" he growled.

Tucker laughed. "Just missed him. They took him away to get his plaque made."

Danny's fierce stance drooped into one of despair. His glowing green eyes dulled to an almost grey blue. Tucker thought he saw a tear start to form . . .

"Tucker, stop it," Sam scolded. She wrapped her arms around Danny's neck and looked him in the eyes. "Danny, he lost."

Danny's eyes widened and he looked at Sam like a child on Christmas morning. "Really?!" Sam nodded with a smile. Danny pulled Sam into an almost crushing embrace.

"HA!" He spun around in circles, lifting the dainty Sam off her feet and shouting 'yes' over and over again. When he put Sam down he placed his hands on either side of her face and pulled her into a kiss.

Tucker almost dropped his PDA as he whipped it out and started recording.

Danny broke away almost a full second later, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "Wha-" He spun around and ran into the men's' room, his plaque meaning nothing to him at the moment.

Tucker slid his PDA back into his pocket with a defeated sigh and observed the bright green light escape from under the door accompanied by the ethereal sound of Danny's transformation into Phantom. Tucker knew that going into the restroom to talk to his friend was pointless, as Phantom would be long gone by now. The techno geek looked over at Sam, who was rooted to the spot where Danny had kissed her.

"Sam?" Tucker asked quietly, careful not to agitate her. "You alright?"

"No, I'm not," she said in a surprisingly neutral tone. "Now do you see why I can't tell him? If that's how he'd react-"

"Look," Tucker interrupted. "I know you'll disagree with me on this, but Danny meant that. That was real."

"So he just runs off after? That's real?" Sam asked with a shaky voice, betraying her hurt feelings.

"I can tell you one thing for sure. If he didn't want to kiss you, he wouldn't have."

"Come off it, Tuck," Sam said, finding her way over to a bench. "He got caught up in his moment of glory. That's all he cares about."

"Ok, hold on," Tucker said, raising his hands. "Danny may be a lot of things, but he is not a glory hog. And no video game is more important to him than either of us."

"Tucker," Sam let out a long sigh. "Just be glad you're not a girl."

Tucker grinned. "Every day, Sam. Every day."

* * *

Hans let out a warbling screech before his body went limp. The massive condor collapsed to the floor of his cage, showing no signs of getting back up. Plasmius took her time cutting off the stream of electricity that flowed into the cage, pumping the dangerous energy into Hans' body even after his death.

"Was that absolutely necessary?" Skulker asked as he made himself known. "I know you do not tolerate betrayal, but Hans was not another one of your mindless drones. He was useful."

"_Was_ is the key word in that statement, Skulker," Plasmius hissed. "I have been dreading the day something from Daniel's future came back to deal with him ever since I discovered Pariah's Prophecy." The ghost woman practically spat out the last two words. "And now, long before I have had time to prepare, I must deal with it."

"Honestly, what did you expect?" Skulker asked as he examined the felled Hans. "You didn't expect to just wait for the future to happen, did you? I read the prophecy as well. It clearly stated-"

"I know what it said, you idiot!" Plasmius shrieked. "And now, if the situation wasn't dire enough to begin with, that traitor has revealed critical information this Walker person can use to dispatch me without incident."

"You seem to hold Walker in high esteem if you fear him so much," Skulker said with a hint of amusement.

"Then you should be even more afraid. Considering his relationship to Phantom, I wouldn't be surprised if Walker obliterates every entity that has ever come into contact with the boy."

Skulker rubbed his flaming beard. "It is possible, but highly unlikely. You are at risk, there is no doubt. However, I don't think Walker would waste much time looking for acquaintances of Phantom."

Plasmius sneered. "If he is as powerful and . . . influential as I think he is, he wouldn't have to spend any time at all. There could be others."

Skulker mulled the idea around in his mind; assassins from the future coming to wipe out a majority of the power-players in the present? Implausible. Such drastic actions would alter the time stream, possibly erasing the assassins themselves from existence. Skulker often allowed his mind to wander in his free time, thinking of such things as time paradoxes. Today, however, he had no free time. Hefting the dead Hans like he was a pillow, Skulker made his way to Plasmius' pet cages with a twisted smile. The Saber-toothed Platypus-Apes looked especially hungry on his way in.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Well, I'm back! No guarantees as to how long, though. I can't say that I'll leave forever again now that I started this segment, and I really want to finish this one. It's been floating around in my head for a long time and I finally worked through all the crap that it was initially made of. _

_As for excuses; sorry, I have none. No tragedies like last time I came back from the dead, although I have had multiple failed attempts to get a girlfriend. Not happy times for Grumbles. No sir . . ._

_So WOW, huh? Danny kisses Sam and TOTALLY FREAKS OUT! This is going to build up into one borderline orgasmic climax near the end which will probably rival the first shocker (Vanessa Masters)._

_And I'll continue thanking reviewers once everything gets back to "normal". On a side note, I messed up the Roman Numerals. Big time. So I'm just going from the number at the top from now on. Hope I didn't mess anyone up with that._

_Wow, 800 reviews? 76,000 hits? I leave for way too long . . . I need a travel agent._

**DIN DA DA**


	66. Seeds of the Future 2

Chapter LXXII

Phantom landed on the top of one of the many dizzyingly high buildings that made up Amity Park's vast cityscape. The view from any of these was breathtaking, and any person would be privileged to have seen such a view. To the ghost boy, it was just another day on the job. The half ghost remained on the rooftop for all of a fraction of a second before propelling himself away from the structure; just in time to avoid two grenades that had been launched at his exact location.

The ghost boy made his body intangible as he flew into an office building. The Huntress veered away from the glass, silently fuming over her target's apparent escape. But Phantom was far from done with his ex girlfriend. With a surge of speed that would have made the Flash look twice, Phantom hurtled at his opponent. The girl was almost caught off guard. _Almost_. She pulled back on her board, creating a makeshift shield. It protected her from the brunt of the ghost's attack, but the force of the impact was enough to disrupt the magnetic boots that held Valerie to her hovering attack board. The girl had been in similar situations before and instinctively reached for her ecto-rifle. True to form, Phantom was making his approach as she fell helplessly to the concrete below.

"Game's over," Phantom said as he slowed his pace to match the speed of Valerie's decent. "Surrender now and I might save you."

"Nice try, ghost," Valerie said with a malicious smile. Her hover board was quickly making its approach. The ghost hunter saw that the laser weapons were primed and ready to fire. "But I'll never surrender to the likes of you."

"I'm hurt," Phantom said with a fake pout.

His mockery was replaced by a blinding purple flash and a howl of pain. The lasers had discharged their energy right into Phantom's back, sending him tumbling away. Valerie's boots clamped onto the board and she pulled out of her fatal dive millimeters above the road. Discarded refuse was thrown up into a mini tornado as Valerie sped through the streets of Amity Park's inner city.

Phantom was hardly a heartbeat away. He easily kept pace with Valerie's machine as it tried to outmaneuver him. Phantom realized too late that the Huntress was not trying to evade him. She had already back flipped off of her glider and landed in Phantom's arms before he could alter his trajectory. The cold, steel barrel of her rifle pressed into his forehead.

"I wouldn't think of dropping me, spook," Valerie hissed. "Wouldn't want your brains to be splattered all over tomorrow's news paper, would you?"

"Dropping you isn't what I had in mind," Phantom replied, "especially not from this height and speed. Sure, you might get a good shot in, but my splattered brains can fix themselves. Can yours?"

Valerie glared at Phantom, her hatred as tangible as Phantom's current state of being. "Why don't you finish it, then?"

"I never wanted to finish it," Phantom said, shaking his head. "I never wanted it to start in the first place. I can't convince you otherwise, that much is clear. I just want you get off my case."

"Never," Valerie growled, pushing the barrel further into Phantom's head. "Not after what you did."

Phantom rolled his eyes and became intangible. Valerie screamed as she fell through the sky – and right onto the roof of a two-story building on the outskirts of the inner city only two feet below her.

"I just wanted to blow off some steam," Phantom's disembodied voice said. "No need to get your panties in a bunch."

Valerie screamed and began searching for her target, only to be met with silence. Phantom had gone. The Huntress sat down and waited for her glider to arrive at her position. Yet another hunt failed.

* * *

Walker looked at Wulf with the closest thing he could call a smile. The ghost animal returned the menacing gesture with one of his own. Walker reached up and patted the furry canine's head in approval. In the short time Wulf had been in his care, the little creature had proven to be more of a hassle than Walker thought possible. To his surprise the, little furball had matured at an unprecedented rate; it now stood over eight feet tall and carried a muscular frame that made it all the more intimidating. Wulf was no longer a puppy. He was ready. 

"You know what to do, Wulf," Walker said as he looked through the portal his loyal companion had torn into the physical plane. "Find Daniel and bring him to me, alive."

Wulf bayed at a moon that wasn't there before leaping through the portal. The rift in space and time sealed shut after the last hair on Wulf's tail passed through it. Walker grinned. Now it was time to wait.

* * *

"Dude, you are going to have to talk to Sam at some point." Tucker sat down on Danny's bed and began absently flipping through one of the dozens of comics that littered the floor. 

"I don't want to," Danny mumbled as he continued to hit his head against the wall as he had done for the past half hour.

"Why not?" Tucker asked as he threw the comic book to the floor and picked up another. "Just tell Sam the truth; it was an honest mistake, and-"

"It wasn't a mistake!" Danny exclaimed. "Right?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

Danny covered his face with a pillow and bellowed into it before resuming his self-castigation.

"Ok, ok, look," Tucker said angrily, pulling Danny's wheeled computer chair away from the wall. Danny's head was moving towards the wall at the time, and he lost his balance without the wall to stop him. The crumpled and defeated Danny Fenton looked pleadingly into Tucker's eyes. "I think I have the solution," the dark skinned boy announced proudly. "Just don't bring it up!"

Danny's hopeful look decayed into one of despair.

"Wait, wait, wait, you didn't let me finish!" Tucker stammered, hoping to keep his friend from breaking down. At least any more than he had already.

"How am I supposed to no bring it up?" Danny cried exasperatedly. "This isn't like 'oh, I'm sorry, I accidentally slapped your ass, it won't happen again'!"

"I know it's not like tha- wait, you've slapped Sam's ass before? When was this?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

"Ok, ok. Look, she's your friend. And it's ok for friends to kiss each other-"

"I don't kiss you," Danny interrupted. "Something I pat myself on the back for every day."

"_That_ isn't _my _point. She's a friend who is a girl. Just say you kinda got caught up in the excitement, but that you're sorry for stepping over the line like you did."

Danny rolled over onto his back. "Do friends who are girls have different rules than friends who are dudes?"

"Yes. Yes they do."

"Good." Danny stood up and transformed into Phantom. Tucker shielded his eyes momentarily as the bright green light filled the room. "I'm going to go talk to her. Wish me luck."

"Wish you luck? Dude, you don't need my help getting lucky-" A thin beam of energy smacked Tucker's beret off his head. "Just go."

Phantom flew through the wall and set off on the all-too-familiar path to Sam's house.

* * *

Wulf bounded from building to building. The green sweat suit he "borrowed" from an athletics store did little to hide his monstrous appearance, even with the hood up. Up on the tops of the buildings, however, the fears of the pathetically weak humans below hardly concerned the ghost. The rush of flying through the air between leaps was invigorating, almost distractingly so, as Wulf found himself nearly passing up his target. 

The ghost boy had stopped outside a window of a house and looked like he was about to enter, but he stopped and turned around. Wulf cocked his head to the side as the ghost boy continued this behavior for over five minutes. The ghost grew bored of Phantom's unusual behavior and began to make his way closer.

* * *

"Sam, I'm sorry I tried to make out with you at the arcade, I-" Phantom smacked his head. "No, that's terrible. Uh, hi Sam! I was just passing through, and thought I-" 

_**Would continue to make a fool of myself by floating in front of your window without so much as becoming invisible!**_

**She is the one you desire! You must prove our worth! FIGHT!**

_**A proper, human mating ritual is more appropriate, you buffoon. I shall guide our gracious host to successfully acquisition a mate.**_

**NO! Females desire the strongest one! Only the strongest is most deserving! FIGHT!**

_**There is no present hostile entity to engage! Stifle yourself before I do it for you!**_

**ENEMY! FIGHT!**

"Where?" Phantom looked around. "I don't see anyth-"

A blur of black and green collided with Phantom's hovering body and slammed him into the side of a building several yards away. The ghost boy shook off his shock and looked up to find – nothing.

Phantom floated away from the miniature crater his impact had made on the side of the building and looked around. There was no offending ghost to be found, which was odd, since something did attack him. The familiar green mist streamed from Phantom's nostrils and he spun around just in time to see a hulking wolf-like creature leap from the top of a building right for him.

Wulf's claws slid out to their full length in the blink of an eye and he tried to sever Phantom's arm, but the ghost child managed to twist out of the way. Wulf managed to snag the boy's belt and grabbed on. Phantom was thrown during the middle of Wulf's leap and smashed into the ground below. Wulf landed with an earthshaking THUD several feet away.

Phantom rolled on his side and fired ecto blasts from his hands at his new adversary. The first few hits found their marks, but the canine easily dodged the rest and took to all fours, running at full speed towards the ghost boy. Phantom charged his fist with energy and swung right at Wulf's nose. The collision send the larger ghost flying back into a building, but the bones in Phantom's hand shattered on the impact, leaving the appendage useless for the duration of the fight.

"Alright dog, you want to play games? I've got one for you. It's called PLAY DEAD!"

Wulf swung his body out of the way of the hailstorm of green energy bolts that slammed into the building Wulf had been thrown to. The ghost animal sprinted away from the siege of destructive energy that bombarded his location, sustaining several hits in his attempt to flee. The large canine mentally scolded itself for underestimating his opponent, even one so puny looking as Phantom, and began to plan its next move. Phantom would not be brought in conventionally, so Wulf moved to employ a different strategy.

* * *

_**Be careful, that beast is likely preparing to strike from below using its intangibility**_. 

**NO, the monster clearly preferred the sky! Wait for an aerial attack!**

_**You are always wrong! The sky is what we expect!**_

**I don't expect it!**

_**Which is why you're wrong!**_

_Guys, shut up. Let me think._

Phantom had no time to engage his brain as the ground in front of him exploded as if a land mine had gone off. Wulf propelled himself through the air and pushed off a tree his momentum had carried him into. Phantom let loose a blast of energy that could have totaled a large vehicle at Wulf, but it was hardly enough to slow the animal's speed. Ten razor-sharp claws dug into Phantom's torso, drawing the glowing green elixir that made up Phantom's blood. Wulf had been ravaged by the ghost boy's attack and fled back into the Ghost Zone to avoid further injury, leaving Phantom on the ground, clutching his wounded body in agony. The corners of his vision darkened as a familiar shape approached him. A hand reached out quickly as Phantom's view suddenly turned sideways before disappearing entirely.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Wulf seems pretty formidable, huh? Well of course he's not Super Hulk Jesus Wulf like he will be later on, he underestimated his opponent. Weren't you listening?!  
__I realized why I ran out of material for the last segment and had to shorten it to 8 chapters instead of the usual 9. I wrote too much in the first 8 chapters and didn't leave any material for a closing one. But don't worry; I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again._

_I'd like to thank my reviewers. That number just keeps growing, like those weird toys that are the size of your thumb and grow in the sink to the size of a cat by the next day. Unlike those weird toys, I love you guys. _

_Special thanks to_ Cylon One, Last Samurai Ryu-san, TDG3RD, Bloxham, Writin' Dude, Fulcon, Adran06, Belthasar, MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, dpphan333, _and_ slyfoxx.

_Extra special thanks to_ Kit turned Mighty, _who has become something of a post de facto beta reader for this story. Thank you kindly._

_There are some things I feel I need to point out.  
First and foremost, I was shot twice in the stomach today and it hurt. A LOT.  
Secondly, this segment is not related to "Seed of Evil", a oneshot chapter earlier in the story. It's all tied together in the grand scheme of things, but for immediate effect, they are not related. Think more along the lines of "The Seeds of the Future Lie Buried in the Past". Cookie to whoever gets the reference first.  
Thirdly, _slyfoxx's_ character the Paper Cutter (right?) WILL debut this chapter. I need to work out how, but it shouldn't be too hard._

_So I leave you with that. Have a nice day, my friends._

**MURDER WAS THE CASE, AND THEY BLAMED ME**


	67. Seeds of the Future 3

Chapter LXXIII

**That hideous creature nearly killed you!**

_**It is good that it fled when it did. Otherwise it might have succeeded.**_

**You were unprepared! **

_**Daniel has been caught off guard before. Normally his aggressors are weak and can be dispatched easily. This one was . . . different.**_

**That was a monster bred for battle! We must prepare you for when it returns!**

_**The dumb one is correct. You must be ready for when it, inevitably, comes back to finish what it started.**_

"Danny? You awake?"

The boy's eyes squinted open, taking in a blurry picture of his surroundings before snapping back shut. The light was too bright for some reason.

"Could you dim that light or something?" Danny asked groggily. He raised an arm to shield his eyes.

"Sure. Tucker? Would you mind?"

The room was instantly made several levels darker than before as Tucker hit the switch, leaving Sam's room illuminated only by candlelight. Danny opened his eyes cautiously, allowing his pupils to dilate accordingly. Once he was comfortable enough, he sat up and found that he was sitting in Sam's bed.

"Ok, so how did I get here?" Danny started as he slid his feet over the end of the bed to face Sam. "Last thing I remember, I was dog food."

"Dog food, huh?" Tucker asked from across the room. He was busy on Sam's computer, looking for whatever it was Tucker looked for.

"Well maybe werewolf food." Danny rubbed his face, trying to clear his disorientation. "It sure didn't act like a dog."

"Ghosts, werewolves, women that dress suspiciously like vampires," Tucker sighed. "Van Helsing is going to be knocking on your door one day. I guarantee it."

Danny rolled his eyes, but the action made his minuscule headache flare up. He winced and smacked the affected area, intensifying the pain even further.

"Take it easy there, Super-Man," Sam said, laying a hand on Danny's shoulder. "We wouldn't want you to pass out again."

"No, I guess not," Danny rubbed his head, gently this time. "How did I get here, anyway?"

"Well," Sam blushed slightly. "I saw you hovering outside my window. I figured you came to talk about . . . earlier today, but then that wolf thing attacked you," Sam smiled sheepishly. "Guess you never got around to it. So I called Tucker and we brought you up here."

Danny returned Sam's smile with a weak one of his own. "Guess I owe you my life," he said seriously.

Sam pushed him back onto her bed and walked over to her window. "So it's gone?"

"Yeah. I think it can teleport. It ripped open a portal with its claws right after it stabbed me with them."

Sam looked over her shoulder at Danny who was still lying on her bed, not having made the effort to sit back up. "Are you ok?"

"I _can _regenerate," Danny said in a condescending tone. "Physically, anyway."

Sam walked back over to the bed and sat down next to her friend. This time, Danny forced himself to sit up. They looked around uncomfortably, gazing at anything except into each other's eyes.

"I swear you could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife." Tucker said with an annoyed edge to his voice. "Sam, I believe Danny has something he needs to tell you."

Sam was about to yell at Tucker, but Danny held up a hand, stopping her. "He's right." The boy ran a hand through his messy black hair and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward today at the arcade. I got caught up in the moment, I mean, _come on_. I have one of the highest scores in the world on that game! If some snot nosed little-" a pen flew through the air and smacked Danny in the side of the head. Tucker glared at him. "Right. I know I crossed the line, but I don't want you to be mad at me for running away or for . . . actually, er, _kissing_ . . . you. You're my friend, and I guess the rules are different for friends that are girls. That doesn't mean I should just make out with you every time something good happens . . ."

Danny caught the blush on Sam's cheeks and the amused look she was giving him and began coughing. "I, uh, you know, just wanted you to know that I like you, you're my best friend, and I don't want you to get freaked out because of that."

Sam scooted closer to Danny and hugged him. "Don't you worry about that," she said reassuringly. "Something like a celebratory kiss isn't going to make me hate you. If _you_ freak out and run away every time it happens, though, I might get a little angry."

Danny smiled as he hugged Sam back. "I'm glad we got that cleared u – every time it happens?" Danny's eyes widened. "What's that supposed to, what do you, I, uh, that's, um, well geeze, I-"

"Sam?" Tucker turned around in his chair. "Please stop pushing his buttons. His head might explode. On the other hand, if you want to pull his knob I can leave the room . . ."

An ecto-beam hit Tucker's beret off his head. Sam was much less forgiving, and the dictionary she hurled at him knocked him clean off his high horse and left him gasping in pain on the floor. "Ok, ok, I get it. No more sex jokes."

Danny stood up and stretched, feeling a dull pain in his abdomen. "Those claws must have done more damage than I thought," he mumbled.

Sam looked over at him from her bookshelf and frowned. "Are you sure you're ok? You've never been hit like that before." Sam and Danny immediately turned to Tucker, whose mouth was open in preparation for delivering another crude joke. He shut it and returned to his web browsing.

"I should be fine," Danny said with a yawn. "Better go ghost and go home. What time is it?"

"11:34," Tucker replied casually.

Danny's eyes shot open. "WHAT? Oh my God, I'm so dead!"

Danny jumped in the air, transformed into Phantom, and was about to fly away when he realized that the dull pain in his stomach had flared up to almost beyond-excruciating levels. And that odd noise was, in fact, his screams of pain.

"Danny!" Sam shouted as Phantom's body now lay sprawled on the floor. His screams now hushed whimpers. Tucker was at his other side, trying to help him up.

"What the hell, man?" Tucker asked as he hoisted his friend up, supporting Phantom's weight on his shoulder.

Sam gasped as Phantom's stomach became visible. Ten gruesome puncture wounds decorated his stomach. The flesh around them looked rotten and decayed. Tucker helped Phantom out of his top, revealing a large number of blackened veins emanating from the claw marks. The holes slowly oozed out a dull green ectoplasmic substance, a stark contrast to the bright green fluid that normally filled the body of a ghost.

"Guys," Phantom whispered. "What happened to me?"

"You'll be ok, Danny," Sam reassured him. "Tucker, go get some towels, hurry!"

"No, don't!" Phantom cried out. He pressed a gloved fist into his forehead as the voices spoke up, despite his massive head ache.

_**There is no human remedy for this toxin. Those towels will do nothing for you.**_

**That monster did this to you! You must exact your revenge! Kill it!**

_**Not now! Now you must heal.**_

**He cannot! The beast sabotaged his healing factor!**

_**This is true . . . The toxin must naturally block out any curative powers to increase its effectiveness. This was obviously a hunting mechanism, now it is used for a much more sinister purpose.**_

**You cannot fight in this state. You would be killed. Return to human form. Ghost toxins cannot harm humans. Slay that . . . abomination another day.**

"Guys, that ghost must have poisonous claws," Phantom struggled to breath. The pain continued to worsen. "I think its toxin blocking out my healing powers."

"Well if that isn't the dandiest thing I've heard all day – ghost toxins? Wow! What will they think of next?"

Phantom ignored Tucker and transformed back into Danny Fenton. The transformation was painful and slow, but it worked. The pain subsided to a barely noticeable ache. Danny drew a clean, painless breath and exhaled with a goofy smile on his face. "That's better."

"Dude, how are you going to fix that?" Tucker sat down in the chair that he had pulled closer to Sam's bed. "You can't go ghost if it's going to kill you."

"I'm sure Valerie can handle things while we figure it out," Danny replied. "The poison doesn't seem to bother me as a human."

"That doesn't mean it isn't there, Danny," Sam noted. "You should really find some way to cure yourself. Maybe find an anti-venom for our dimension's equivalent poison."

"Oh sure, Sam, Danny can just waltz into the Poison Control Center and ask to see all the anti-venoms available for venomous wolf bites."

"I'm sorry I'm not an expert on the subject, Tucker, I don't spend all day watching documentaries on Animal Planet."

"I'll have you know that those documentaries are the very same ones that keep us from making dumb decisions like your-"

"Enough!" Danny ordered, holding up his hands. "I'm fine right now! There's no pain, no blood, no anything! Just stop, ok? Now I really need to get home, so I-"

"Dude, your parents think you're staying at my house," Tucker said. "My parents think I'm staying at your house."

"And my parents aren't home," Sam added. "They took my grandma to New York for some thing or another. They'll be back in a day or two."

"And while you two get cozy up here, I'll be playing Halo 3 downstairs on Sam's ginormous projector! Have fun!" Tucker was gone before the book and ecto-beam aimed at him could do any damage.

"What if my parents call Tucker's house?" Danny asked as he sat back down on Sam's bed. "Or his parents call my house? Then what?"

Sam laughed and walked over to her massive closet. "What are we, three years old? We all have cell phones, Danny, they can call you themselves if they need to tell you something. Now don't you dare come in here. I'm changing." Sam flicked the light on and shut the door behind her.

Danny felt his pocket for his cell phone. His fingers wrapped around the rectangular plastic and his anxiety over the matter disappeared. Danny stood up and walked over to the window.

**You are trapped in this weak human form! When that creature strikes again, you are finished!**

_**He is right. You could not survive a second attack in this state. We will try to use your body's natural defenses to battle this toxin. In the meantime, you stay as far away from battle as possible. You can't afford another altercation.**_

**BAH! To hell with these precautions! You are destined to fight! Your home is the battlefield! It is where you belong! You don't need ghost powers to destroy and kill! The arsenal in your parents' basement holds enough firepower to conquer a small nation! **

_**Silence! Daniel needs to recuperate. He cannot do battle if he is dead, now can he?**_

**Growl.**

Danny couldn't help but grin at the antics of the voices in his head. The fact that he was actually hearing voices wiped the grin off his face. Tucker was the only one who knew about the voices so far, and he seemed to have forgotten about them.

"Danny?"

Danny turned around and looked at Sam. Her dark purple nightgown hung loosely off her shoulders and the laced edge dangled around her knees.

"Yeah?" he replied absent mindedly.

Sam looked down at herself and blushed. "Too much? Or, uh, too little?"

Danny's face reddened furiously. "I guess it could be both, depending on who you're asking."

Sam's smiled. "Well I'm asking you."

Danny's mouth opened and closed several times as words fought to form in his mind.

_**Oh for Christ's sake, say 'you look amazing'.**_

"Y-you look amazing," Danny said, his voice cracking during the mere three word sentence.

_**Pathetic. Learn to vocalize, would you?**_

Sam rolled her eyes and grabbed a fluffy black robe off the back of her closet door. "You don't think I'd walk around like that in front of you all night, do you? Give me some credit, I come from a wealthy family, I have class. Even though I don't like to brag about it."

Danny's heart rate slowed, due in no small part to Danny's other selves working inside his body. Still, Sam's curvy figure being covered helped a great deal.

"Let's go scare Tucker by turning the couch intangi-" Sam stopped midsentence, remembering Danny's affliction. "Oh, right. We can still peg him in the head with something."

"That sounds fun; inflicting pain the ol' fashioned way." Danny offered his elbow to Sam, who graciously took it. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

* * *

Wulf looked up at his master from the huddled mass of black fur he had curled himself into. Walker looked back in confusion. 

"My friend, do not fear me," the deathly white ghost knelt down and scratched his canine companion right behind the ears. The ghost's tail began to wag and his foot steadily began to pound the floor. "I do not punish the innocent for minor inconveniences. Even in failure, you have succeeded in accomplishing my task."

Wulf's ears perked up and the hulking lupine specter stood to his full height. "Mi fari'ne kompreni."

Walker looked at Wulf with a raised eyebrow. "You can understand what I say and vocalize a response in Esperanto? Curious." Walker turned and looked out over the top of the abandoned prison that had become his home over the past few weeks. "You have not only given me more time to prepare for my attack on Phantom, but in poisoning him, you have trapped him in his human form. Eventually he will come here, to the Ghost Zone, seeking a cure and that is when I will kill him."

"Vi hipokrito mortigi Phantom," Wulf barked worriedly. "Se vi fari, vin voli cesi al ekzisti!"

Walker chuckled. "I am well aware of the possibility of a temporal paradox, my friend. But my father did give me one useful gift. When the time stream is altered, we will not be affected."

Wulf's head tipped to the side. "Kiel tiel?"

"My limited control over time protects me from such things, and our bond protects you as well."

Wulf looked at his master with awe and fascination. "Kiel?"

Walker chuckled, more to himself than to his bestial friend. "It is one of the few benefits that come with being the spawn of the ghost that commands time itself."

To Be Continued

_A/N: Yay for reviews and hits! I wanted to get this chapter up because I'm going to visit a college for most of the morning tomorrow, which means that I will not only be kept from writing, but I will also miss the newest episode of_ Transformers: Animated

_Speaking of sentient robots, the cookie goes to _The Golden Hat_ for picking up the Beast Machines reference._

_And, deviating slightly from that, I messed up the title of this segment. I already used SEED of Evil for the mini-chapter thing, and Shadows OF THE FUTURE was the one where Johnny 13 gets his shadow. But I don't have any ideas for a better name for this segment, so I'll stick with it. __Hope this can appease you until the next update, which won't take another year._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially _Musicallity, TDG3RD, Fulcon, dpphan333, Bloxham, MissMeliss4251, The Golden Hat, _and_ TPcrazy.

**PS: Extra special thanks to Bloxham; the only person who seemed to care that I was shot… :(**


	68. Seeds of the Future 4

Chapter LXXIV

Danny's eyes opened slowly at the sound of his alarm. On any other Monday morning, the boy would have cursed the small machine for jolting him from the land of dreams. This particular morning, however, actually warranted a speedy awakening. Danny's routine was finished in record time and he managed to make a half decent breakfast for himself.

"You're up early," Jazz commented, looking up from the paper. "What's the occasion?"

"School starts back up today," Danny said with a grin as he tore into his hastily cooked eggs. Sunny-side-up had, much to Danny's displeasure, become scrambled. Still, they were edible. "And I've been getting really bored without it."

Jazz smiled. "I'm glad to hear that you're so excited to go back! I knew you'd come around eventually."

"Don't get any funny ideas about me becoming some kind of psychotic scholar," Danny said between mouthfuls of blackened toast. "I need the organization and structure school gives me. I'm lost without it. I actually forgot what day it was yesterday."

"That bad, huh?"

"You don't know the _halfa_ of it," Danny grumbled.

"The what?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Danny looked at the clock that hung above the kitchen sink. "I better get going. If mom and dad wake up before you leave, tell them I left, that I love them, and all that nonsense." Danny had always been slightly irritated that Jazz's school day didn't actually start until an hour after everyone else. It must have been one of the perks that came with being the school shrink, along with her own parking space in the faculty parking lot.

Jazz rolled her eyes, took a sip of her coffee and went back to reading the newspaper. "Will do, little brother."

Danny left the kitchen and grabbed his book bag on the way out the door. He allowed himself to float into the air and willed the silver-green rings to form and change him into Phantom. As soon as they appeared, however, Danny instantly commanded them to disperse and levitated back down to the ground.

The horribly painful injuries sustained in his battle with what he and Tucker concluded was, most likely, a werewolf had shown no signs of healing, despite his _others_ telling him that progress was being made in the healing process. Danny had checked up on that "progress" on two separate occasions, but each time was transformation was twice as painful as the last one. And the decaying area around the wound seemed to expand exponentially with each change.

And so Danny was forced to live the life of a pedestrian; one he had long since abandoned once he had incorporated secure and discreet flight paths to and from certain buildings, such as the school. The boy sulked and plodded off, having plenty of time to do so before he was in any danger of being late.

* * *

"I never thought I'd say it," Mr. Lancer started as he wheeled himself into the classroom, "but it is wonderful to see all of you again."

Most of the students shared a chuckle at the good-natured jab, but some of them had already given into the realization that they were actually back in school. Needless to say they did not appear to be too happy.

"I suppose you all have some reviewing to do, since none of you have been here in over a month. We'll start off slow, but once we get back into the swing of things, don't expect any mercy from me."

Danny sighed and rested his head in his folded arms. He was tired for reasons unknown to him. Perhaps the werewolf venom had different side effects on his human half including, but not limited to, drowsiness.

His sleepy state was whisked away when his ghost sense went off. Danny noticed with a wince, that even the minimal amount of spectral energy his ghost sense used, it still made the pain in his abdomen worsen. The pain quickly subsided, though, and Danny raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Fenton?"

"Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Is it an emergency?"

Danny's ghost sense went off again, prompting a quick covering of his nose. "Uh, yeah. Nosebleed."

"Go ahead, but hurry back! You wouldn't want to miss the introduction to _Hamlet_!"

"Not on my life, Mr. Lancer," Danny called back as he ran out of the room.

The boy paused in the hall and checked to see if his ghostly offender was anywhere nearby. On some occasions, the mismatched ghost beast was roaming the halls and was swiftly dealt with. This one was either in a different part of the building or . . . _worse_. Danny swallowed nervously, praying that the werewolf didn't come back to finish his handiwork. After retrieving the Fenton Thermos from his locker, Danny began to search the school for the unknown offender.

* * *

"The Late Permian Era was quite fascinating indeed. Long after the extinction of the dinosaurs our mammalian ancestors-"

Sam was too bored to pay attention to Mr. Feluca as he rambled on about prehistoric creatures. The information wouldn't even be interesting on a good day, and today was not a good day.

Danny had been distant after leaving her house on Saturday. When she and Tucker had both called to see if he wanted to do anything, Danny politely declined and hung up on them. The young woman assumed it was the fault of the werewolf's poisonous puncture wounds, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that Danny still felt very uncomfortable around her after the incident at the arcade, even after they had talked about it.

Sam began to doodle in her notebook. The pictures were abstract at first, but before she knew it, Sam was drawing sketches of her best friend in full Phantom regalia. The little margin-sized stick figures quickly grew in size and began to cut in on her note taking space. Sam realized what she was doing, but before she could erase those pictures that had taken over the main part of her page, the paper began to rustle.

Sam eyed it suspiciously. Paper didn't usually move around like that. Spring hadn't fully kicked in yet, and Mr. Faluca was in no hurry to open any windows so the wind was ruled out as a possibility. If a ghost was responsible, well, it would have to be quite bored to be playing around with her notebook.

"Ok, who is messing with my notebook?" Paulina looked around the classroom angrily, trying to assign blame to someone. "Sam? Would you like to stop interrupting me while I'm taking notes?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Obviously it's me, that's why I'm sitting here talking to you right now."

Paulina glared at her peer. "Just because you don't want to be here doesn't mean you have to ruin the learning experience for the rest of us."

Mr. Faluca sighed and motioned to the rest of the class to put their books away. There wouldn't be anymore class today.

"Please," Sam snorted in reply. "You couldn't spell Gorgonopsid to save your life, let alone pronounce it."

"Gorgospits are my favorite Permian Era ani -"

The pretty Latina girl was cut off as her notebook floated up in the air. Sam looked at her own notebook to find that it, too, was levitating in front of her as was everyone else's notebook. The pages neatly tore themselves from the spiral binding and spontaneously folded into intricate shapes. A flock of paper swans gracefully flew around the room. Origami animals of all shapes and sizes began to roam about the classroom, poking and prodding and generally being more annoying than harmful.

"Still think it's me?" Sam hissed.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all," Paulina spat back.

Suddenly, all the paper animals became intangible and fled through the walls. The students looked at each other in bewilderment. Mr. Faluca removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Class, tomorrow we will have a group discussion. Each group will present an argument explaining why using LSD is bad. Group with the best argument gets twenty bonus points."

The whole class murmured amongst themselves in excitement as the bell rang and the students filed out into the halls. Sam looked around for any of the origami animals, but none of them were to be seen. Confused, but still mostly apathetic, Sam made her way to her next class, only to stop as the horrible realization hit her; she couldn't remember which class she had next.

* * *

Walker scratched Wulf behind the ears as he watched the live video feed being transmitted to his high-definition, 100 inch, flat screen monitor. At the bottom of the screen were feeds from all the different cameras that Wulf had planted around Casper High following his attack on Phantom. The cameras, along with the equipment to transmit their signal into the Ghost Zone and the unnecessarily large screen to view the signals on were all stolen. Wulf was not only a fearsome and deadly creature, but a stealthy, dexterous, and tech-savvy one as well.

The hulking wraith stifled a yawn as he flicked through the different cameras throughout the school. He followed Danny for a while, then his friend Tucker and after, his apparent romantic interest, Samantha. The pale ghost scowled at the image of the gloomily-dressed teenage female. While Phantom was his main reason for coming to the past, Walker harbored almost as much resentment for the young woman on the screen before him. The ghost switched to a different camera feed, too disgusted by the human girl's presence to continue monitoring her.

Just as he was about to find a more advantageous angle, something caught the weary specter's eyes. Small paper animals were flying through classrooms, halls, and clumsily weaving through student traffic. The origami creatures were not causing any harm, but they did appear to be headed for the same location. Walker's suspicions were confirmed when the video feed outside the art room displayed a small army of folded paper animals marching into the class. The students were ushered out, as if the obviously ghost-controlled paper posed as much of a threat as a puddle of spilled glue.

Walker was about to wake his canine companion, but hesitated. Danny would have to confront this ghost eventually. He was the only human brave enough to do so. Every other fleshling, no matter how much stronger or older than Daniel, would flee in unbridled and absolute terror; a pity that this particular ghost was about as terrifying as a mosquito. Despite the weak nature of this new ghost, any expenditure of Danny's ghostly energy would only hasten the progression of Wulf's venom.

The aforementioned ghost's ears perked up, having sensed his own mentioning in his master's mind. The telepathic bond the two shared grew stronger by the day.

"Don't worry, my friend," Walker reassured his loyal ally. "Even in his weakened state, Daniel should not have too much trouble dealing with the Paper Shredder."

Wulf growled at the mentioning of the ghost's name. It was a newcomer to these parts of the Ghost Zone; nobody knew anything about his origins or his motivations. And, putting it nicely, nobody gave a damn. The Paper Shredder was, quite possibly, the most annoying ghost that he had ever encountered. His spies throughout the Ghost Zone reported identical reactions by such ghosts as Skulker, the Box Ghost, and the Lunch Lady among countless others. Walker did not trouble himself with the lesser beings. Most of them had been killed by the time he was born in the future, and those that survived had gone into hiding.

Walker grinned as more and more paper animals made their way to the art room. This ghost was pathetically weak, even by this time's standards. Still, in a building where paper had yet to be replaced by computers, young Daniel was in for one interesting encounter.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I told you it shouldn't be too hard to incorporate_ slyfoxx's _character into this chapter. He actually fits in quite well with this segment. _

_I also need to clear two things up. _

_First and foremost, I guess you all think I was actually shot. By an actual gun. Containing actual bullets. In actuality, it was an airsoft gun, and the shooting was filmed for a school project. Still, it hurt like a sombitch._

_:P_

_Article two, those of you who like to hypothesize and theorize about Walker's parentage are _**WRONG**_. That is all._

_Thanks to my reviewers, especially_ Musicallity, Last Samurai Ryu-san, dpphan333, Bloxham, Fulcon, TPcrazy, Belthasar, MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92,_ and_ Sparky Phantom

"**If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. TELL ME BEFORE YOU USE THE PUNCH!"  
**** –Blitzwing in the latest episode of TF: Animated**


	69. Seeds of the Future 5

Chapter LXXV

It was a combination of utter relief and total bewilderment that washed over Danny when he first encountered the flocks and packs and herds of paper animals that were roaming the halls of Casper High. The relief came from the knowledge that it couldn't possibly be the werewolf and if it was, then the ghost had gone insane with boredom.

"What the eff?" and the confusion . . . well that seemed to speak for itself quite nicely.

Of all the paper creatures that traveled together, Danny chose to follow a group of origami lemmings. The ghost child watched as the small representations of the idiotic animals flung themselves off of water fountains and benches and anything else that was above ground level, including himself. Some of them even floated into the air and dropped to the ground. The suicidal animals, while behaving in a somewhat erratic and randomized way, were heading for a predetermined destination.

Danny soon found himself outside the art room, where it looked as if the origami version of Noah's Ark had unloaded its cargo at least a hundred times over. Danny stepped into the room, carelessly stepping on those paper animals unfortunate enough to be under his feet. Once he moved on, though, the paper reassembled and continued on its journey.

The teenager looked around the room, seeing more of the folded paper creations than he thought would be possible to have in a school. Sure, there were books and notebooks and other sorts of paper-based school supplies in every classroom, but the never-ending wave of ghost controlled paper animals reached the ceiling in some places. Danny's bad feeling worsened as the door slammed shut behind him, and a menacing cackling filled the room. The irksome paper animals stopped moving.

Danny considered fazing through the wall, but figured it would not be worth the effort. If this ghoul could control paper, he wouldn't make it very far anyway.

"Who DARES to enter our lair?!" came the inevitable threat.

Danny looked around, seeing no ghost to assign the whiny voice to. Its spectral echo was almost a buzz, which made it quite annoying.

_An annoying voice to go with an annoying power; I sure hope he's just that._

_**I have not encountered this one before.**_

**Neither have I, although if I had, he would most likely be dead.**

_**He is a ghost! He is already dead!**_

**THEN I WOULD BEAT THE AFTERLIFE OUT OF HIM!**

_**I'M SURE YOU WOULD, YOU BARBARIAN!**_

_He said 'we'_, Danny offered, hoping to quiet the voices. _Doesn't that mean there are two?_

_**I can only detect one spectral energy signature.**_

**As can I.**

_**Then perhaps there **_**is**_** more than just one offending ghost. Your detection abilities are skewered beyond repair!**_

**I shall skewer YOU and FEAST ON YOUR BLOOD!**

_**I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, YOU GRUESOME BRUTE!**_

**I SHALL! AND THEN DANIEL WILL BE FREE FROM YOUR IGNORANT AND BLASPHEMOUS INFLUENCE!**

_GODDAMNIT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW, OR I WILL TEAR YOU FROM MY MIND MOLECULE BY MOLECULE! _

The voices were silent, and Danny wondered if he was losing his mind.

_**I apologize, Daniel.**_

**Me too.**

_**We are at odds because neither of us has been able to make any progress in healing you. This toxin is too alien to us, so the creature that injured you must be a yet-to-be-discovered species. **_

**And, as much as it will damage your pride, you and Tucker are wrong in assuming it is a werewolf.**

_**Yes, I was getting to that. Thank you.**_

**You are quite welcome. And I apologize for my outbursts as of late. I know we are both upset that our host has yet to recover.**

_**Apology accepted. If we ever get out of here, I'd like to buy you a drink.**_

Danny shook his head. He wasn't losing his mind. He had already lost it. It was too bad he wasn't paying attention. The massive paper serpent that had been forming in the room wasted no time in attacking him.

* * *

Tucker and Sam had just met up outside the art room when they heard the startled cry of their best friend come from inside. Tucker was fast on his feet and opened the door as quickly as he could; just in time to see Danny get carried away in the mouth of an unusually large origami dragon. An equally unusual ghost was hanging on to the dragon's tail, laughing maniacally as his paper war beast disappeared around the corner. 

"What in the world was that?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea," Tucker replied as he glanced in the art room. "We better go after them. Danny can't use his ghost powers, and we have no idea how powerful that new ghost is."

Sam reached into her book bag and retrieved a gun-shaped device. Tucker's eyes widened. "Are you mad, woman?" Tucker hissed. "Put that away!" He tried to cover it up as students began to fill the halls, wondering what the commotion was all about.

Tucker's demand fell on deaf ears. "Are you coming to save Danny or not?" Sam began to walk away, the gun safely collapsed into a small rectangle in her pocket. Tucker rolled his eyes and followed.

* * *

Danny screamed for a full minute before realizing that his ghostly captor wasn't actually taking him anywhere. The paper dragon flew through the halls; the ghost controlling it was hanging onto the serpent's tail. 

The boy realized he was in no immediate danger and began to pound on the dragon's snout. Surprisingly, the paper gave easily under his assault and Danny fell to the ground, rolling to a stop several feet away. He grabbed the Fenton Thermos from his belt and prepared for the ghost's return.

Stupidly, he was facing the hallway the offending specter had disappeared through. He remembered the concept of intangibility too late as the paper dragon capitalized on his error, slamming into him as it emerged from the wall to his left. Danny smacked into a row of lockers hard, denting the ones his body came into contact with.

"Alright," Danny said as he stood from the floor. "Before we do this I think its only fair that we introduce ourselves. I'm Danny Fenton, and you are . . . ?"

"We are the Paper Shredder!" the ghost screamed, the buzzing tune that accompanied his voice reaching an unnecessarily high level. "Tremble before our awesome power! TREMBLE!"

Danny rolled his eyes. Another mistake the Paper Shredder took advantage of. The dragon disassembled and reformed into hundreds, possibly thousands, of paper blades. The Paper Shredder raised his hands and the blades began to glow with dark blue energy that matched the color of his gloves. The ghosts arms swung down and every blade sped at Danny. The boy realized what was about to happen and did what any ordinary human without ghost powers would do in the same situation. He fled through the halls, screaming like a little girl with his hands flailing in the air.

* * *

Sam and Tucker saw Danny running. Tucker started to laugh, but stopped as he saw the paper missiles that were chasing after him. Some of the blades caught up with the boy and tried to stab into his flesh, but failed. Not a very surprising result, seeing as how they were paper and all. But some of the blades, seemingly of their own accord, veered off course at the last second and grazed the exposed parts of his body. It might be less painful as being stabbed, but the desired results were achieved. Danny's forearms and neck were soon covered in paper cuts. Some of the worse ones were bleeding. 

"GUYS!" Danny called out when he turned and caught sight of his two friends. For his efforts, the paper daggers sliced across his face, cutting his cheeks, lips and nose. One of the blades managed to nick his eye, which was much more painful than the other wounds. "Get my parents!" Danny was now covering his face to prevent any more attacks on his eyes.

Tucker nodded and turned to run. Sam dug into her pocket and retrieved the weapon she had been concealing. "Danny, catch!"

The boy caught the offered weapon in his outstretched hand and aimed at the bulk of the paper blades. To his surprise, a stream of green fire erupted from the barrel of the gun and incinerated most of the daggers. The Paper Shredder howled in anger and summoned more paper to join the fight. For every one bug-sized strip he destroyed, five more took its place.

Sam figured Danny had a better chance of holding his own now that he had a weapon to defend himself with. She turned to follow Tucker, only to find the boy running back toward her, fear evident on his face.

"Sam, move!" Tucker didn't wait for her to comply; he picked her up and, with surprising strength, flung the girl over his shoulder, entering an open classroom. Luckily, there were no students in there, as most of them had fled.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Sam huffed as Tucker set her down. As if to answer her question, Jack Fenton barreled down the hall, covered from neck to toe in what appeared to be some experimental body armor. Maddie followed, donning her usual teal colored jumpsuit. Both were armed to the teeth with a vast array of ghost weapons. "Oh," she mumbled, saving Tucker from an explanation.

* * *

The Paper Shredder was a little more than confused when the armored tank of a man stepped out from behind a corner and stood in front of his target. The ghost made a very irritated . . . and irritating . . . noise. 

"Who are you?" the Paper Shredder demanded in a very accusatory tone.

The faceplate that covered the large man's head retracted, revealing a very unhappy face. "I'm your worst nightmare, spook. Nobody messes with my son!"

The Paper Shredder looked from Danny, who was peeking around the side of his father's rather large bulk, to the new human that stood in front of him.

"We don't understand!" the Paper Shredder declared. "Fat-Fleshy is Fleshy-Ghost's father?" The ghost summoned more paper to his person, surrounding his body in a protective paper shield. "We will destroy you all! Then headache will go away!"

The barrier stopped revolving around its manipulator. Each piece of paper folded into more deadly blades and aimed right at the large human before accelerating towards him. Jack Fenton merely stood his ground and let the paper blades bounce off his armor harmlessly. Once all the blades had retreated for a second run, Jack crouched down, allowing his wife to operate the large turret mounted on his back. The paper was quickly blasted away, leaving the ghost defenseless.

Danny saw one of his favorite inventions hanging from a sling on his father's armor; the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. Danny grabbed it and sprinted at the ghost.

"Danny, stop!" Jack boomed.

His son ignored his warning, though, and was close enough that he leapt into the air and swung at the Paper Shredder. Either the ghost was too shocked to turn intangible or too stupid. Whatever the case was, the baseball bat connected with the ghost's head, knocking the monocle off its eye. Danny hadn't seen the wave of paper daggers as they started their second run, though. They tore into his side, right where his compact flamethrower was holstered. After sustaining too many hits to exposed circuitry, the weapon activated the self-destruct sequence that Jack had insisted to Maddie was necessary to install on all of their inventions.

The explosion engulfed the Paper Shredder and the whole fleet of paper blades in a fireball of green energy. Danny was sent flying back into a wall. The impact sent chunks of drywall in all directions. The teenager's eyes flittered shut and he slumped to the ground. Blood trickled down his charred face from a wound to his forehead and only added to the predominantly red color that covered his skin, as all the paper cuts were now bleeding profusely. Maddie, Jack, Tucker and Sam stood still for only a moment before they all brandished their phones and dialed 9-1-1.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Sounds kinda ominous, don't-cha think? Almost as if I killed Danny Phantom off!  
__. . .  
__Anyway, there is the Paper Shredder. He may seem more like a formidable opponent, but let us not forget that Danny was unable to use his ghost powers. The whole "we" concept will be explained later. Danny's incapacitation will allow for me to develop a subplot to this arc featuring one character that we haven't heard from in a while and two new ones. I mean, they're not really "new". You know what I mean._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ Begotten Hero, slyfoxx, Adran06, Writin' Dude, Fulcon, MissMeliss4251, The Golden Hat, _and _Hero07.


	70. Seeds of the Future 6

Chapter LXXVI

"That idiot! What was he thinking?!" Plasmius roared at her television, watching in horror as the explosion temporarily blinded the screen.

When it subsided, the Paper Shredder was lying on the ground, his ink black hair was now a dull grey color as was his black jumpsuit. The color change would fade away in time, and Plasmius' attention was drawn from the bothersome ghost as Samantha and Tucker sealed it inside a Fenton Thermos. Her attention could now be focused on Daniel, who received minor burns all across the front of his body. His ghost half was mostly to thank. A normal human would have died in the explosion, or worse; been left to suffer with agonizing third degree burns for the rest of their life.

The ghost woman observed Jack and Maddie Fenton watching over their son, comforting him until the paramedics arrived. She snorted in disgust at a motherly remark Maddie made to her son before he was taken away by ambulance.

Much like Walker, Plasmius had thought it necessary to install hidden cameras through the school. Her purpose was to hopefully gather blackmail material on young Daniel should he ever reveal her secret, but so far she had been unsuccessful in gathering any information that would assist her if that problem ever rose.

"For someone who's trying to ruin the boy's life," Skulker mused from behind her, "you display an unusual amount of compassion towards him."

Plasmius reverted back to her human form and stood from the couch. "I do wish to make him my son one day," Vanessa stated condescendingly. "A mother must worry about her children."

Skulker rolled his eyes, although the solid green optics were incapable of displaying the action. Vanessa, having spent countless hours in her partner's company, was well aware of Skulker's sarcastic silence. "If I were you," Skulker said as he ran several numbers through his processor, "I would go to him. He has likely been admitted to a hospital; a perfect opportunity to acquire more DNA."

Vanessa waved her arm dismissively. "His ghost half is still infected with that ghost monster's venom. Any samples of DNA taken from him at this point would be useless."

Skulker crossed his arms. "Very well. I am going then."

Vanessa looked at Skulker as if his flaming Mohawk had suddenly become a rainbow colored afro. "Why?"

"This has obviously affected my niece on an emotional level," the mercenary explained. "It is my duty as a relative to ensure her stability."

Vanessa glared at Skulker, trying to discern if the hulking robot of a ghost was hiding any ulterior motives. The face of the cybernetic battle suit stared back indifferently. The stare-off allowed Skulker to do several more calculations.

"The longer you keep me here, the longer Wulf's venom stays in Daniel's bloodstream. If it is not removed, it will eventually cross over to his human half and kill him. I may be able to assist him in doing so."

Vanessa sighed. "Please do not worsen the situation. Your presence has been known to exacerbate problems in the past."

Skulker thought about replying, but after consulting his motherboard, decided against it. He floated off the ground and became intangible before flying away.

* * *

Danny's eyes strained to remain shut. The voices insisted that he open them, but there was too much light on the other side of his eyelids. Opening them would be very, very painful. And besides, the voices were hardly ever right; always fighting amongst themselves and whatnot. It was maddening.

But then Danny realized that the voices were not coming from inside his head. They were coming from around him. They were unfamiliar voices, mostly. Occasionally a familiar tune would echo around him, but the strange voices quickly overlapped them. Finally the words started to make sense.

"He's awake," a man said calmly. "I just can't get him to open his eyes to check his pupils to see if they are dilating properly."

"But he is alright?"

_Mom!_

The stranger chuckled. "Mrs. Fenton, believe me when I say the worst has passed. He is one lucky boy to still be able to be _pronounced _alive, if what I've heard is true."

"Every word of it," said another familiar voice.

_Dad! Wait a minute . . . pronounced alive? _

_**That can only be done in a hospital!**_

**ESCAPE! YOU MUST FLEE! IF THEY TAKE YOUR BLOOD, YOUR SECRET WILL BE UNCOVERED!**

_**Unlikely. The ectoplasm in your bloodstream will be ignored as minor contamination. If they do test you, your parents will insist on treating you at home where you can fake going through the procedure as you have countless times before.**_

Danny almost grinned. Those voices, as annoying as they could be, were becoming extremely helpful.

The boy heard the sound of a pen scribbling on paper. "You can all visit him for a while, but I'll have to come in here in about an hour to see if he wants to open his eyes."

"Thank you, doctor," Maddie said calmly as the man left the room. His footsteps grew fainter as the man made his way to another wing of the hospital.

"Mom? Dad?" Danny's voice was hoarse and it was slightly painful to talk. But the shuffling of feet into the room indicated that his call did not go unanswered.

"We're here, son," Jack said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I've been better," Danny tried to joke, but his chest shuddered as a very painful cough worked its way out of Danny's mouth.

"Just rest, sweetie," Maddie said, brushing some of Danny's hair out of his eyes.

"Mmm, can you turn these lights off? I was going to let the doctor do the pupil test thing, but it was just too bright." The lights went out before he finished the sentence.

"Better?" Jazz asked hopefully.

Danny smiled. "Tons. Thanks Jazz." Danny let his eyes open slowly. The image was blurry at first, but the worried faces of his family quickly came into focus. "I'm sorry," Danny finally said after his vision had cleared completely.

"Sorry?" Jack repeated. "Sorry for what? You beat that ghost so bad, he's the one who should be in a hospital!"

"Yeah, but it was dumb of me to try something like that. I mean, I'm just a kid, I could've been killed."

Jazz looked at her brother with a smile. "Its good that you're accepting your limitations as a human being," she said warmly.

Danny thought about rolling his eyes, but figured it would be painful. "But I wailed on him, right?" Danny looked up at his father with hopeful eyes.

"I just wish I was as ambitious as you when I was your age," Jack said, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm so proud!"

Danny grinned evilly at Jazz, who sighed and shook her head. "Where are Tucker and Sam?"

"They're waiting outside," Maddie answered. "They thought we should see you first. I thought that was silly; they're like the brother and sister you never had!"

Jazz cleared her throat and looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow. "Well the younger brother and sister you never had."

Danny smiled weakly. "Sam is older than me."

Maddie furrowed her brow. Danny chuckled, but that brought on another coughing fit.

"Do you want us to send them in?" Jack asked.

Danny nodded and said his goodbyes to his family. Jack's hug was neither bone-crushing nor painful, for which Danny was thankful. After they had cleared out, Sam entered the room.

"Hey Danny," she said, avoiding his gaze. "Feeling better?"

"Well since I'm not stuck in a perpetual fireball of exploding ectoplasm, yeah, I'm doing pretty well. How are you holding up?"

Sam pulled up a chair and sat down, finally looking Danny in the eyes. "Not as good."

"Why's that?"

"It's my fault you blew up to begin with!" she exclaimed.

Danny thought about what she meant before the realization set in. She was the one who handed him the flamethrower. "Yeah, I guess it is your fault."

Sam's shocked expression softened upon seeing Danny's smile. She playfully smacked his arm. "If I had known that your parents programmed self-destruct sequences in all their weapons, I wouldn't have given it to you."

"I don't think you'd have smuggled it into school in your book bag either," Tucker said from the doorway.

"There you are," Sam said accusingly. "Where have you been?"

"Hot interns," Tucker replied with a knowing smile. Then, with a sing-song voice, "I got numbers!"

"How did you manage that?" Danny and Sam said in unison.

Tucker looked down. "Well when you're the friend of the guy who got, like, a million paper cuts all over his body, you're entitled to a few benefits."

Danny rolled his eyes, risking the pain. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt.

"So wow, dude, that Paper Shredder guy," Tucker started as he came into the room and pulled up a chair next to Sam. "He was pretty neat-o, huh?"

"I really hope you're kidding," Danny said with an edge to his voice.

"Relax, dude," Tucker said as he typed away on his PDA. "He was annoying as hell, sure, but how many ghosts just control paper all willy-nilly like that?"

"The Box Ghost controls boxes _all willy-nilly like that_," Sam mocked. "Why does power over paper amaze you?"

"I don't know," Tucker responded finally. "It's just that we live in the age of technology. You'd think ghosts would come out with more powers like that Technus fella."

Danny pointed his finger at Tucker's head and fired a weak ghost ray that slapped Tucker's beret off his head. Pain worse than anything he had ever felt before rocketed from his stomach to the rest of his body, nearly knocking him out.

"Danny!" Sam hissed through a whisper. "Don't do that! You're going to hurt yourself!"

The ghost boy watched as Tucker's had landed neatly on a table right next to a long array of syringes. Tucker froze; his phobia of needles overcoming him.

"That," Danny drew a ragged breath, "was definitely worth it."

* * *

Clockwork found his limitless amounts of time to be quite boring. Being the master of time, one would assume that Clockwork could see all the amazing things that time had to offer; the past, the future, and all the ways time could have unfolded. Even though his essence being that of time itself already presented this knowledge to him telepathically, Clockwork had taken this suggestion in the hopes that the experiencing the events firsthand would give him a deeper understanding of time, space and the universe.

Sadly, it did not. That option was already exploited and, after untold millennia traversing time and space, the master of time returned to his castle to find that nothing had changed, as was expected. His castle existed outside of time, and was not bound to the same laws as the rest of the universe. One fraction of a second after he had left on his time-spanning journey, Clockwork had returned to his castle. That was, according to the progression of the outside world as related to him by his appointed Observants, five hundred years ago. Speaking of those meddlesome specters . . .

Clockwork turned around on the spot just as two figures appeared before him. The first floated to his right and dressed in regal attire while still keeping in compliance with the Observant High Council's parameters for operational appearance. The second hovered to his left. This one dressed in strange futuristic garments which appeared to be the later model of his companion's clothing. After recalling his visit to this tangent's future, he noted that was, indeed, the case.

"Clockwork," the first Observant spoke. "We are here on behalf of the High Council. They have encountered a matter that requires your immediate attention."

Clockwork nodded, having known everything the ghost was going to say before the Observant himself knew. Clockwork knew everything that was about to happen before it happened. He knew about everything that which had already transpired as well.

As far as he was concerned, there were only two things he didn't know. The first was why the Observants continued to treat him as if he _didn't_ already know everything. The second was why he didn't know the first issue.

Clockwork followed the Observants over to one of his many gear-themed monitors. The castle was very high-tech, despite its appearance. Each monitoring device utilized Clockwork's telepathic connection to the fabric of time to pinpoint whatever event he chose to witness. The technology only worked for a being that could also control time, which is why the Observants were able to operate the technology as well.

Clockwork had a comprehensive knowledge of time and all its possibilities. The Observants were limited in their view of the time stream. They could see the past as it had occurred, whereas Clockwork could see the past as it had occurred and how it could have been. Clockwork could see all the possible ways the present could unravel into the future, but the Observants were able to pinpoint which path the present was currently taking. It was one advantage they held over him. Or so they thought.

Clockwork was somewhat limited in this way, but his insight never failed him in correctly reading the future. The Observants knew this, but always wished to show Clockwork the exact path the current timeline was traveling on. They never came to him unless there was a problem, and even then he never acted upon it.

"A ghost has come to the present from the future. At first we believed it to be you, as the temporal warp signature was identical to yours."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow and felt his corporeal form waver and shift out of focus. Upon returning to normal, Clockwork found he was now an infant version of himself. The purple baby face would have been considered adorable by many if not for the menacing solid red eyes and the scar that decorated the side of his face.

"You are incorrect," Clockwork stated, his normal voice emanated from his infant form's mouth. "This ghost did not arrive in the present. He came out of his journey too early, twenty years prior to his objective."

"Twenty years?" the second Observant piqued. "Is that a coincidence?"

Clockwork's form again shifted, returning him to his original age. "Hardly."

"Whatever the case may be," the first Observant cut off what could have resulted in an argument. "This ghost is now acting on your mistake, Clockwork."

The master of time chuckled. "And what mistake would that be? According to you and your arrogant Council, I've broken every rule you've ever made and made every conceivable mistake you can comprehend. Which one of these _ghosts of my past_ have come back to haunt me now?"

The first Observant floated closer, the large eyeball that was the ghost's head squinted in obvious displeasure. "Your greatest mistake to date; in allowing Danny Phantom to live all those months ago, you have condemned not only this universe, but very _multiverse_ to horrors so unfathomable, it is heresy to speak them. That one future you said – nay, _promised_ us would never transpire has become an inevitability."

_So that was it_, Clockwork thought as he rubbed his scar thoughtfully.

"You have forgotten one thing, Reginald. The future has not transpired. What will happen remains to be seen." Clockwork looked into the monitor that depicted Earth twenty years into the future. It was not pretty. "Go to your masters, you and K'rdon. Tell them that future will not happen. I will make sure of it."

"This is your last chance," Reginald threatened.

Clockwork turned to face them. All the times he failed to predict the future could be counted on one hand. The second metaphorical finger was raised now.

"Or what?"

"The High Council has agreed unanimously that you are too great a risk to be left to your own devices," Reginald replied sardonically.

"Should you choose to ignore this coming storm, the Council will not hesitate to eliminate you," K'rdon continued.

"The Council has decided that if you place the future at risk, the Ghost Writer will be used to its full power against you." It didn't take a master of time to deduce the satisfaction in Reginald's voice. "Even you are powerless against its might."

To that claim, Clockwork had no reply. There were no time themed puns he could throw at them to make them leave in a disgruntled mood. They had won this argument. And while Clockwork despised doing anything to alter time, he had promised the race of eyeball-headed ghouls that the one future that terrified them the most would never happen. And here it was, ready to come to pass in the blink of an eye.

Clockwork pointed his scepter at the door of his lair. The Observants took the hint and gracefully teleported away. He was not angry. The Observants acted through fear; an emotion felt by all living things. If Clockwork felt fear, he would probably act rashly out of self preservation as well. But those googly-eyed freaks would be damned to Pariah's Keep if they thought they could threaten him with a reality-altering super weapon. The master of time sighed. It was time to get to work.

To Be Continued

_A/N: WHOA! How about all that, huh? Pretty crazy stuff. Clockwork in more depth, those two annoying Observants with names, and the Ghost Writer. I think I'll wind up making a lot of people angry with the Ghost Writer. Oh well. _

_I don't know if all of you noticed, but I recently added a poll. And about an hour after I made it, I was able to figure out how polls work . . . hmm. Anyway, you can check it out in my profile if you'd like. For fans of this story, it is highly recommended that you do. I won't go into details, but this particular poll may have something to do with the upcoming_ **Reality Wars** _bit I mentioned earlier. So yeah . . . have fun with that._

_As usual, I'd like to thank my reviewers, especially_ Fulcon, slyfoxx, Begotten Hero, Bloxham, Belthasar, darkbunny92, Adran06,_ and_ MissMeliss4251.

**SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!**


	71. Seeds of the Future 7

Chapter LXXVII

Danny slowly opened his eyes. He could tell from the natural lighting in his hospital room, or lack there of, that it was night time. The large digital clock opposite his bed pinpointed the exact time at 11:30. He looked over next to his bed and couldn't help but grin. Tucker had fallen asleep in the empty bed next to his. The techno-geek's PDA sat on his chest, rising and falling with each rhythmic breath. It blinked and vibrated as messages and alerts flooded its systems, but Tucker slept on, not even registering his neglected machine.

Sitting closer to him was Sam. Unlike his other best friend, the young woman was awake. The small light on the desk next to Danny's bed was on, providing just enough light for her to read her current literary fascination, _Pride and Prejudice_.

"Good to see some people are getting stuff done," Danny mumbled, the grogginess of his deep sleep still lingering.

His sudden greeting caused Sam to jump slightly. She smiled after realizing Danny was, in fact, awake, and set her book down, folding the corner of the page she was reading to avoid losing her place.

"Good to see some people are getting better. How are you feeling, mister_ I-can-sleep-for-two-days-without-consequences_?" Sam teased.

Danny's aura of drowsiness disappeared as quickly as his eyes widened in shock. He sat upright, not even aware that the action was painless. "Two days?!" he almost shouted.

"SHH!" Sam put her index finger to her mouth and tried to push her friend back down in his bed. "Yes, two days! Why, did you forget about something?"

"Well, uh," Danny rubbed the back of his neck and removed Sam's hand from his shoulder. "Not that I can remember, but still, two days?"

"Don't worry. Valerie has done a half decent job of keeping ghosts away. And you never really miss anything when it comes to school."

Danny chuckled at Sam's reassurance. Now he did notice the absence of pain, in particular his gut wrenching, chest bursting cough.

"Well I do feel a lot better. I bet I could go home tomorrow," Danny rubbed his chin. "But I doubt they'd let me."

"Yeah," Sam sighed and rolled her eyes. "Doctors; they just aren't satisfied until they've made you uncomfortable in every way you can imagine."

"And when they accomplish that," Tucker mumbled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "They find _new_ ways to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Glad to see you've joined us in the land of the living," Danny looked at Sam, who stared indifferently at her friend. "Well, half living, anyway." Danny scratched his head, unsure as to why he had upset Sam.

"Oh dude, I missed a ton of messages," Tucker whined as he examined his PDA. "The interns! I forgot about our date!"

Danny couldn't help but chuckle, and found to his delight that it did not force the General Grievous cough out of his lungs. Sam picked up her book and continued reading.

"You could tell them you were keeping me company," Danny offered. "Chicks dig the sentimentality gig."

A feminine hand slapped the patient's head with surprising force. "Says you," Sam growled. "I, for one, dig the honesty gig."

"Tell me, Sam," Tucker picked up his glasses from where they had fallen on the floor. "If it was _you_ expecting me for a date, would you still be interested if I told you I fell asleep while watching my friend?"

Sam thought for a moment. "No, probably not. I'd respect you for telling me the truth, though."

"Really?" Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"No, not really."

"That's what I thought." Tucker sent the message telling one of the two young women that he had been watching over his friend and had lost track of time.

"So any ideas on how soon I can get out of here?" Danny felt an uneasy feeling creep into him. It was the same one whenever his parents talked about dissecting Phantom . . .

Danny's eyes widened and he sat upright again, quickly enough that Sam dropped her book from the sudden movement.

"Did they take any blood?"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, not understanding. Danny grabbed Sam's wrist; the anxiety wracking the inside of his head. "Blood samples! Did they take any?"

"Oh yeah, they did that yesterday," Tucker replied absently as one of the interns replied to his message.

"WHAT?!"

"Shut up, Danny!" Sam hissed. "They did do some blood work. The ectoplasm in your blood was written off as a minor contamination from the paper cuts you got."

Danny's firm grip on Sam's wrist loosened.

"Yeah, and they were curious about your speedy recovery for a while, but they figured it was probably just another side effect from your ghost wounds." Tucker paused from his messaging. "Which is stupid, really. You'd think a ghost-inflicted wound would take _longer_ to heal than a regular one."

Danny's grip loosened even further. His hand slid down Sam's small wrist and gently swung to the floor. "Thank God."

_**I told you there would be no sense in worrying about it, Daniel.**_

**Do not scold him! He was in a coma!**

_**He was SLEEPING! There is a difference, you buffoon!**_

**Who sleeps for two days?**

_**Considering that he was almost vaporized, and almost bled to death, and was infected with an unknown ectoplasmic toxin, I'd say it is excusable. **_

**Perhaps, but those two days have given that creature time enough to plan its return.**

_**This is true. If it is some sort of canine, then it must have your scent. If it comes looking for you, you are finished.**_

"Let's try to be a little more optimistic," Danny encouraged.

"Uh, ok?" Tucker replied. "I thought we were doing a good job. Unless he's talking to you," Tucker glared accusingly at Sam. "All that black must be affecting his mood."

"At least I can take mine off," Sam snarled.

Tucker's eyes widened in shock. "Goodness gracious, a racist joke and sexual innuendo in only seven words!" Tucker began laughing. "Alright, female, you win. But for future reference, I do NOT like mayonnaise on my sandwiches."

Sam made a go for Tucker, preparing to tear his head off, but Danny held up a hand. The dark haired boy was deep in thought and didn't notice where his hand made contact with Sam's body. It was several seconds of stunned silence and unawareness on Danny's part before the boy's head snapped up.

"Oh . . . my . . . G-"

Sam furiously slapped Danny's hand off her chest and wrapped her arms around the area tightly as she sat back down.

"Sam, I am so sorry," Danny apologized. The girl only looked back at him in bewildered shock. "I-"

"First you _accidentally_ kiss, and then you _accidentally_ feel her up?" Tucker chuckled as he snuck his PDA back into his pocket. "If I _accidentally_ become someone's godfather, I swear . . ."

It wasn't Sam's book that hit Tucker in the head, nor was it an ecto-blast from Danny. Skulker materialized in the far corner of the room as Danny's ghost sense went off, sending a wave of pain through his torso. The mechanical biped's arm-mounted energy cannon was still smoking.

"I swear that you are the most ill-mannered human I have ever come across," Skulker grumbled. "If it isn't already awkward enough for these two to be alone in the same room together, you just have to continue blathering on like you do."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude."

Skulker turned his attention to Sam, who was still hugging her chest and occasionally casting a sideways glance at Danny, who was now ignoring her.

"Samantha, how have you been?" Skulker asked as kindly as he could.

"Good, up until about two minutes ago," the girl replied as she stood up. Danny made no acknowledgement of her movement, apparently in some kind of trance. The young woman walked over to her uncle and hugged him.

Skulker returned the embrace as best he could. It was quite an unusual sight. "What happened two minutes ago?" The robotic body suit maneuvered around Sam and moved closer to Danny. "Did Tucker make some lewd comment about your relationship with Daniel?"

"No," Tucker responded before Sam could object to having a relationship with her best friend. "Danny accidentally copped a feel. Sam freaked out."

Skulker, after failing to recall what the phrase meant, consulted his hard drive. Definitions from all over the Internet came to his consciousness. When he remembered how Sam was hugging her chest and giving the boy wary glances, well, the math basically did itself.

"That seems very unlike him," the mercenary mused. He waved a mechanical hand in front of the boy's eyes, but it elicited no response. "Surely this isn't the Paper Shredder's doing . . ."

"Nah, he wasn't paying attention. As usual." Tucker slid off his bed and shook Danny's shoulders. The boy jolted out of his daydream and looked around.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I was thinking about . . . stuff."

"I'm sure you were," Sam muttered.

"Daniel, I believe I may be able to help you rid yourself of the ghost toxin in your blood."

Danny gasped in excitement. "You found a cure?"

"No, but I have often been forced to use deadly venoms in my, er, _field of work_. Naturally I made anti-venoms in case my own weapons were ever used against me. I have quite a considerable amount of expertise in this matter."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Danny rolled out his bed. "To Fenton Works!"

"Calm yourself," Skulker ordered. "You cannot simply leave this hospital, especially not looking like that."

Danny looked down and saw the paper hospital gown he had been dressed in. He yelped before diving back under the blanket that covered his bed.

"I will . . . _ensure_ that you are discharged tomorrow and we can begin working on treating you properly, not with this," Skulker looked at an IV that was hanging from a stand nearby, "barbarically primitive equipment. Sleep well."

Skulker turned to face his niece and Tucker. "Do you two require transportation?"

Sam and Tucker looked at the wall clock, which told them it was now 12:03.

"Sure," Tucker said. "I guess my parents thought I was staying here for the night." The boy cast a frightful glance at the table where the syringes had been. "As if."

"And I guess my parents though that too," Sam agreed. "I don't know why my dad, of all people, would let me stay here, though."

Skulker placed one massive metallic hand on each child's shoulder and turned them invisible and intangible. The ghost took off through the ceiling, leaving Danny alone in his room.

_**As I was saying earlier, you should really pay more attention.**_

**Nonsense! He was acting out of natural instinct! Notice how she hesitated to remove your hand from her –**

_**She did remove it regardless of how long it took. The initial shock was considerable.**_

_Whatever happened to that talk we had about being quite every once in a while?_

_**That talk never took place. We are part of your mind, Daniel; we would remember such a conversation.**_

**SOME OF US could keep our thoughts to ourselves, because OTHERS OF US would rather not be bored to death with unnecessary big words!**

_**You have the mental capacity of a single celled organism! You would do the universe a service by purging your essence from Daniel's mind!**_

**OOOOH! I'm so scared! **

_Shut up! SHUT UP! I'll purge BOTH of you from my mind if you don't stop it!_

_**You cannot! Only a ghost of Skulker or Technus' caliber has the technological know-how to accomplish such a feat. Any less qualified attempts will kill you.**_

_If the alternative is having you two use my brain as a battlefield, then I'd do it in a heartbeat! _

**Our host presents a very good point.**

_**Indeed. Perhaps we could forego this incessant bickering for a while. At least until Daniel has successfully dealt with this toxin situation.**_

**Agreed.**

_Good. Now, can I go to sleep?_

_**You do not need our permission to use your own body to perform basic human functions. We can only guide you. You are in control of your body.**_

**Although I think sometimes we would do a better job . . . **

_I just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to interrupt the next shouting match._

_**There will be no more of that for now.**_

**Yes, we will quiet ourselves so you can sleep.**

_You know, I never really thought of this, but if I'm in a hospital gown that means someone saw me naked._

_**Yet another brilliant deduction.**_

**Thanks John Madden, I don't think we would have ever figured that out on our own.**

_I'm just saying . . ._

_**We are well aware of the situation.**_

**Mhmm.**

_You think it was a nurse?_

_**Possibly. **_

**Perhaps Sam was asked to do the honors.**

_**Don't be stupid. She is not qualified to perform such a task.**_

**So now a person needs credentials to take off another person's clothes? What would it matter anyway? Danny will be on the receiving end of that treatment in a few years time and I'm willing to bet on our continued survival that Sam won't need a license.**

_Holy crap! You're as bad as Tucker!_

_**Now you've gone and angered our host!**_

**I was stating an observation.**

_Just be quiet. _Danny rolled over on his side. _I might have slept for two days straight, but I'm still tired._

Danny heard the voices bicker for a moment, but they quieted down enough for Danny to finally drift off to sleep.

* * *

"It appears that Phantom's healing factor still functions, despite our efforts to incapacitate him," Walker said to himself.

Wulf had staked out the hospital room Danny was going to be held and managed to install one camera in a lonely corner of the room. It was unnoticeable, even to a highly trained eye.

"Ho maestro, mi havi malprosperi vi!" Wulf whimpered as the massive ghost hunkered down in the corner of the room.

Walker sighed and got down on one knee. "My friend, you have done no such thing. This minor delay has given me ample time to prepare for my confrontation with Phantom. Now stop this ridiculous behavior at once! We must prepare for his arrival."

Wulf rose to all fours and padded over to his master, who scratched the ghost behind his large pointy ears. "Kio voli vi havi al fari?"

Walker grinned and turned the channel on the large television that had since been moved into one of the newly refurbished rooms in the prison. The screen depicted a familiar artificial portal to the human realm.

"La fantomo-infano testamenti morti per mi ungegi," Wulf growled.

"No," Walker turned off the television. "His death will come from my hands alone." The deathly white ghost grinned. "It is unfortunate that Daniel will be unable to see the irony in his demise." Walker turned his attention back to his companion. "Go and wait for him in the laboratory. When he appears, bring him to me. Destroy any that stand in your way."

Wulf bowed. "Gi voli esti fari, mi maestro."

The lupine specter took off, leaving the prison in a hurry and making best possible speed for the Fenton Portal. Danny Phantom would die this day, and Wulf would die before failing his master.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I guess this was mostly a filler chapter to flesh out the voices a little more and to give the gang some hang-out time. Sure, it's in a hospital, but when you're best friend is Danny Phantom you don't really get to be picky about these things. Not much to comment on, though. Again, I'll leave the speculation to you._

_And if you haven't noticed, I have a "new" story up. There's two descriptions of it; one in my bio and the other in the story itself. It's called _**A DOOMED Alliance**_, and it would please me to no end if you took a look at it. I see it as a way to flex my canon muscle by writing something that isn't AU._

_Also, don't forget about the poll! _

_I noticed that the number of reviews per chapter has dropped slightly. Hmm. I'm sure it will pick up once this segment comes to a close. Thanks to those of you who do review,_ _especially_ Goldamon X, Writin' Dude, slyfoxx, MissMeliss4251, Halbringer of destruction, Coppa-Cola, Fulcon,_ and_ Musicallity.

**PEEK N' PEEK!**


	72. Seeds of the Future 8

Chapter LXXVIII

Jack and Maddie were surprised that Danny had been discharged from the hospital so soon. In their curiosity, they overlooked the smug grin Danny wore all the way home. It was quickly replaced by a grimace of sheer terror due to Jack's horrendous driving, and Danny thought he may need to revisit the medical facility for a second time.

"Son, I can't tell you enough how proud we are of you," Jack beamed as he narrowly made a yellow traffic light. "And to think you were only in there of four days after taking that ghost head on with nothing but a baseball bat!"

"It was the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick, sweetie," Maddie corrected as Jack barely avoided slamming into a fire hydrant.

"It looked like a regular bat to me," Jack replied as the rocket propulsion system lifted the large and heavily armored RV over a little boy who had run into the street to retrieve his ball. The vehicle slammed into the road hard enough to dislodge several of the mounted rifles from the wall.

"Yes, but it's a bat with the word '_Fenton_' on it."

Jack flashed his wife a toothy grin of admiration as Danny tried to collect all the scattered weaponry. His father's distraction almost caused the RV to collide with a school bus filled with junior high students. The heavyset man swerved at the last possible second and continued on his way.

"So what's for dinner tonight?" Danny asked, hoping to keep his father focused on the road with normal conversation.

"I thought we could go out to celebrate your homecoming!" Maddie offered cheekily.

"That sounds great," Danny sighed as the RV slowed to a regular speed; only twenty miles per hour over the speed limit. At least it was good driving for his father. "Anywhere in particular you were thinking of?"

"Ooh, Mexican!" Jack said as his stomach growled. "I can't remember the last time we had Mexican!"

"It was last Tuesday, Jack," Maddie said with a knowing smile.

"Really? Well gosh; I guess I just really love those chimichangas."

"Mexican sounds good," Danny agreed as he placed the last of the rifles on the weapon rack. "When are we going?"

"We can leave as soon as we pick up Jazz," Jack replied as he turned the RV into the driveway of Fenton Works. Danny's father pounded on the horn and waited for his daughter to acknowledge that he was home.

Jazz stuck her head out of her bedroom window. "What?!" she cried angrily.

"We're going out to eat!" Jack hollered back. "Hurry up!"

"Why?"

"Danny was released from the hospital!" Maddie jumped in.

"Mom!" Danny complained. "The whole neighborhood doesn't need to know I was hospitalized!"

"Danny was released from the hospital?" Jazz shouted back.

"Yeah!" Jack bellowed. "They released him this morning! He's going to be fine!"

"That's so good to hear that Danny was released from the hospital!" Jazz shouted down. "Give me a minute, I'll be right down!"

Danny hit his head against the wall.

_Parents_, he thought. _Typical._

**Typical for you, perhaps.**

_**Yes, and be thankful you have parents at all. Some children do not have parents.**_

**Really? That is truly astonishing news. Maybe you can take that information to the board of directors and then CUT YOURSELF after they LAUGH IN YOUR FACE!**

_**Why would I go to a board of directors with that?**_

**They would direct you in how WRONG YOU ARE in your PITIFUL ASSESSMENT!**

Danny hit his head against the wall again.

_**STOP THAT!**_

**You will damage all of us!**

_If I stop, will you be quiet?_

_**If we stop, will you stop trying to murder us?**_

_Yes._

**I say you continue to try. At least the other one would be removed from your mind as well.**

_**You fool! You would perish as well!**_

Danny picked out an ecto-grenade from a locker nearby and held it close to his nose. His finger was dangerously close to the pin.

**We give up!**

_**Yes! Yes! Do not harm us!**_

_Keep your voices down and maybe I won't._

Danny tossed the weapon back into the locker and locked it shut just as Jazz hopped into the vehicle.

"So, where to?"

"Mexican," her family replied in unison, although Jack was slightly more enthusiastic.

* * *

Wulf dug around the Fenton's laboratory. He had disabled the alarms upon his arrival. It was odd that they did not go off when he actually arrived, though, but it had probably saved him from an unwanted confrontation. 

The ghost heard the sounds of several humans communicating upstairs and became invisible. Once the human that was in the house left, the hulking specter continued his search. There was no designated target for his rummaging, he simply wished to bring something back to his master; a token of apology for having failed to bring the ghost child to the Ghost Zone after their first encounter.

Something sharp poked the ghost's paw and the beast swiped the box the object was in, knocking it to the floor. Among the cluttered assortment of useless gadgetry was a framed picture. Wulf picked it up and examined it closely. A small human child with black hair was waddling through a grassy park. In the background, a woman in a teal jumpsuit with auburn hair wore a winning smile as she sat on a checkered blanket watching the child.

Then common sense kicked in. The small human was his target, only younger in the picture, and the woman was his mother. The bottom portion of the frame bore a plaque that read "FIRST STEPS".

Wulf regarded the photograph carefully. How it wound up in a laboratory was beyond his understanding. It was obviously important, and was probably meant to sit out somewhere visible to everyone. The ghost turned and bounded up the staircase and into the kitchen. None of the surfaces looked suitable to place the keepsake, so Wulf moved on to the next room. On a sofa table next to a large L shaped couch were several other pictures. One of them showed his primary target at his more current age. On his left was a female of a slightly paler complexion and, in contrast to the girl, a dark-skinned boy stood to the right. All three of the children looked . . . happy.

The ghost exchanged the photo of Danny's baby steps for the one of him surrounded by his friends before taking a seat on the couch. Was his master wrong about the ghost child being savage and uncontrollably evil? The boy in this picture clearly wasn't the vengeful deity Walker had described to him. He looked like a normal adolescent human.

Wulf was confused. Why would his master lie to him about such a thing? It made no sense to depict Danny in a malevolent light. The boy showed no signs of hostility, as far as he could tell. Sure, there were the jabs during his first encounter, but those were different circumstances. Surely the boy didn't make absurd jokes and fire energy blasts from his hands when he wasn't fighting for his life.

So then what was it that kept Wulf rooted to his seat instead of staking out an ambush point in the laboratory? He had his orders, but something felt . . . wrong; out of place. Like there was a piece to the puzzle that Walker had left out. Or perhaps Walker had told him everything and the information had been misconstrued. It made sense, considering Walker's deeply seeded hatred for the ghost-boy. Or maybe there was something Walker himself didn't know. Unlikely, but possible . . .

Wulf arranged the photos so that the one he had brought up from the lab blended in. The ghost thought about rummaging through the rest of the house, but decided not to. His nose twitched as a strange scent filled his nostrils. A ghost was approaching, but it was not Danny Phantom. This one was more machine than ghost. Wulf sped to the lab, and found a hiding place just in time. His suspicions about the foreign ghost's intentions were made clear when it fazed through the ceiling.

Wulf had never seen Skulker before. After trying to visibly gauge the strength of the possible adversary, Wulf huddled further back into his hiding place. Whoever this ghost was, it looked like it could sure take a punch. Or a claw. Whatever the case, Wulf was not going to risk exposing himself. He silently watched as Skulker went about his business.

* * *

The first thing Skulker noticed as he entered the Fenton's laboratory was that the alarm systems were already disabled. The mechanical brow on his face rose in suspicion as his steel boots clanged to the floor. The Fenton Anti-Ghost System, or . . . well, the alarm system was notoriously incompetent. Still, any sensible ghost that had the foresight about such things would at least make an effort to avoid detection. 

The mercenary almost grinned at the thought. Danny had adjusted the alarm system to recognize Skulker's unique ectoplasmic signature and ignore it so that, even if the system worked, it wouldn't bare its klaxon upon his arrival. But now he, or any other ghost for that matter, wouldn't have to worry about that for a long while. Whatever had disabled the alarm had done so quite efficiently. Five long, parallel gashes ran along the system's hard drive. It would take at least a month to rewire everything that the offending ghoul had destroyed.

Skulker knew the ghost was nearby. Perhaps even in the lab with him. The robotic head swiveled around a full three hundred and sixty degrees searching for a possible target, but the scan turned up nothing out of the ordinary.

Skulker raised his arm to his face and tapped a red button. "File under _Unidentified Ghost Toxin: Day Six_," Skulker waited until the whirring of his onboard computer systems had ceased and a green light winked on above the red button. "Daniel has been discharged from North Mercy Hospital in Amity Park. The injuries he sustained while fighting the Paper Shredder have healed at a superhuman rate, providing further proof to my theory that the ghost venom does not affect Daniel's human form," Skulker paused before adding, "so long as he does not use any of his ghost powers."

Keeping his forearm at mouth level, Skulker examined the lab in greater detail. "I arrived in the Fenton's laboratory to prepare for when Daniel returns home from dining with his family. We are going to perform several experiments to test the strength and nature of this unknown venom." Skulker stopped when he nearly stepped on something. It was one of several gadgets strewn carelessly on the floor next to an overturned box. "The alarm system has been disabled and the laboratory appears to have been searched. For what, I am uncertain."

Skulker mentally commanded the recording device to pause as he knelt down to clean up the small mess. Among the fallen gizmos was a seemingly new one. It had the sheen of recently polished metal and a brand new sticker on the front. Skulker put the rest of the equipment back in the box and returned it to the shelf it fell from. He then went back to examining the _Ghost Getter_, as it was labeled.

"Interesting," Skulker mumbled. The part of Skulker's index finger that would have been the nail retracted revealing a small headphone jack. The ghost extended the cord and plugged it into the device. As he suspected, one of the machine's functions was to play music. But it was the other, primary function that captured Skulker's attention.

The ghost grinned as he allowed his other forearm to slide open. The compartment inside was just large enough to house this new piece of equipment. Wires attached to every port and a magnetic seal held it in place. Skulker's tracking systems recalibrated to compensate for this addition. The mercenary performed another scan. This time, he was able to see Wulf crouched down in the corner of the room.

"You have no business here," Skulker growled as his weapons activated. "Leave here at once, or I shall _make_ you leave."

Wulf stood to his full height and looked straight ahead into Walker's flaming green eyes.

"I'd like to see you try," Wulf growled back.

Skulker divided his consciousness to consult his language algorithms. The ghost was speaking in Esperanto. Thankfully his translation software was of a recent manufacture and was able to understand the ghost's speech.

Skulker fired a laser that hit the ghost square in the chest. It slammed into a desk, which sent a Fenton Thermos sailing through the air. Skulker caught it without even looking at it.

"You cannot stop me!" Wulf howled. "My master will slaughter you all!"

Skulker uncapped the thermos and aimed it at the lupine ghost. The silver beam of light smacked into the wound Skulker had made on Wulf's chest and began to break him down into his base molecular structure. The thermos vacuumed him inside and Skulker reattached the lid. Skulker regarded the thermos with as much concern as one would show an empty bottle of glue before setting it on top of a shelf.

"Bad dog."

* * *

Danny didn't arrive home for another hour. His night out had been eventful, to say the least. Some ghost animal nearly managed to make off with his father's leftovers, but Jack beat the animal to its second death with his bare hands. As distraught as everyone was over the ordeal, the restaurant gave his family a coupon for a free dinner the next time they visited. Danny knew the first place his parents would go after putting the food away was to the lab, and so he patiently waited. Until one thirty in the morning. After his parents had gone upstairs to bed, arguing about where the Ghost Getter could be, Danny snuck down into the lab. His ghost sense went off halfway down the stairs, but Danny fought the urge to clutch his stomach despite the considerable pain. 

_It's getting worse . . ._

"Skulker?" Danny called out in the loudest hushed whisper he could manage. "You down here?"

"Yes," the mercenary replied as he stepped from the shadows. "I've been here since you left for dinner."

Danny thought for a moment. "That was a while ago," he remarked.

"I could bore with you the specifics, but we have more pressing matters to attend to." Skulker tossed Danny the thermos. "You had a visitor. Some kind of dog."

Danny's eyes widened as he caught it. "Did it have claws?"

"Were you even listening? It was a _dog_, of course it had claws."

"No, I mean, like, really big claws?"

Skulker recalled his "battle" with the ghost. "I couldn't see anything unusual for an animal of that size. It was wearing a green sweat suit, though."

"That's the one," Danny confirmed as he turned the cylindrical device over in his hands. The status monitor read OCCUPIED.

"The one that poisoned you?" Skulker mused. "Interesting. This may take less time than I thought. If we can extract a sample of the ghost's venom, maybe even just its blood, I think I may be able to make a suitable amount of anti-venom."

"Uh, ok," Danny looked at the thermos. "Care to explain how you're going to do that?"

Skulker was about to reply when the door at the bottom of the stairs opened up. A half-awake Jazz stumbled into the room. "Danny, mom and dad wanted me to make sure you weren't playing that stupid video game ag-" the girl finally saw the giant robot standing next to her brother.

"Jazz," Danny said slowly. "Don't freak out, ok? This is a good guy."

Jazz gaped at the giant form of Skulker. He stood perfectly still, not wanting to startle the girl.

"A ghost!" she whispered in awe. "A real live ghost!"

"Er, technically I'm not _alive_," Skulker corrected, making air quotes to accent the word _alive_. Danny elbowed him in the side. "But if that will prevent you from alerting the entire household to my presence, then you can call me whatever you wish."

"Wow!" Jazz took an uneasy step forward. "You're really real!"

Skulker rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I believe we have already established that. My name is Skulker and I am the Ghost Zone's greatest mercenary. You are Jasmine Fenton, daughter of Jack and Madeline Fenton and elder sister to Daniel Fenton."

Jazz, no longer stupefied, turned her gaze to Danny. "How do you know him?"

"Uh, long story," Danny thought back to when he first met Skulker. "Very long story. No time to explain, now if you'll excuse us, me and Skulker have work to do."

"_Skulker and I_," Jazz and the aforementioned ghost corrected simultaneously. The two looked at each other curiously for a moment before focusing back on Danny.

"Jazz, this is serious," Danny continued, ignoring the grammatical rebuke. "You really can't be down here right now!"

"Why not?"

"There is a lot going on that you simply wouldn't understand," Skulker spoke up. "And neither of us has the time nor the patience to explain every infinitesimal detail to you." The mechanoid looked at Danny. "At least not right now."

"Well can you at least tell me why you're down here?" Jazz asked hopefully.

"Very well; we are trying to concoct anti-venom using the ghost in this thermos," Skulker held the object in one hand and pointed to it with the other. "I believe that is all the information you need to know."

"What are you making it for?"

Before Skulker could try to usher Jazz off to bed, the thermos started to shake. It fell from Skulker's hand and rattled on the floor. Danny watched in horror as five razor sharp claws tore through the side of the thermos and ripped the device in half. A green mist escaped the destroyed Fenton Thermos and reassembled into the massive, furry, black specter. Wulf looked from Skulker to Jazz and then to Danny.

"See Jazz," Danny muttered as Wulf sized up its opponents, "this is why you shouldn't be down here!"

"Why?"

Wulf's massive claws slid down from his paws again and he leapt through the air at Danny's sister.

"NO!" Danny leapt into the air and willed his transformation to begin.

The familiar tingly feeling began at the top of his head. Electrified ectoplasm washed over his body in a nanosecond. Phantom slammed into Wulf and knocked the ghost right into Skulker's punch. Phantom slid to the floor in unbearable pain as Wulf hit the Ghost Portal activation button.

Phantom looked down at his body and the pain grew even worse. His torso had decayed well beyond the point of functionality. The flesh was a sickly grey color, and the organs inside were an even sicklier dull green. Ectoplasm of the same color oozed from the gaping hole in his stomach. Phantom could tell from the searing pain in the rest of his body that the parts of him that were still under the jumpsuit were no better off.

Skulker had thrown himself at Wulf and managed to pin the ghost down underneath his bulk. He tried to twist Wulf's neck past the breaking point, but the canine ghost was very resilient.

"Tell me how to cure the ghost child!" Skulker demanded as Wulf's neck twisted further.

"Never! I would rather die by your hand than betray my master!"

Skulker roared and slammed Wulf's head down on the floor. "Look at him! Is this what your master wants?"

Wulf saw why Skulker was so upset. Phantom looked like a corpse reanimated long after decomposition had set in. His face was discolored and bulging black veins were becoming visible. The vibrant green eyes were almost blank and lifeless. A puddle of deathly green ectoplasm was forming on the floor. The girl that he had tried to attack was kneeling down next to the ghost boy. Her shock and uncertainty were overridden by fear for her brother's life.

Wulf thought about Skulker's words. "Yes," he grunted, managing to shake Skulker off him. "But it is not what_ I_ want!" Wulf slashed the robot across the back, disabling the suit. Skulker cried out as he collapsed to the floor.

Wulf bounded over to the ghost boy, who raised an arm and began to feed ectoplasm into it.

"Krom via forteco, fantomo-infano, mi scii kiel al kuraci vi."

The girl placed a hand on Phantom's outstretched arm and the ghost lowered it. She appeared to understand him. Wulf didn't bother to find out if that was the case. He picked up Danny Phantom and leapt into the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Jazz sat on the floor in shock. Her brother had saved her! He had become a ghost to save her! No, it wasn't that simple, there was something more to it than just that. The girl looked over at Skulker's damaged body and crawled over to it. 

"Skulker?" She asked. "Are you ok?"

"Whether or not I am _ok_ is immaterial," the mercenary replied in a surprisingly calm voice. "That ghost took Daniel."

"I thought it wanted to save him!" Jazz exclaimed.

"I am uncertain as to the specifics of its intentions. It has a master. And any ghost powerful enough to control a beast like that is bound to be formidable."

"Is Danny going to be alright?"

"You saw him change?" Skulker changed the subject.

Jazz nodded.

Skulker sighed. "Then I suppose there is no point in keeping you in the dark any longer."

"I thought Danny said this was a very long story," Jazz stated.

"Well in case the obvious has escaped you in all the hubbub of the last few minutes, I am presently paralyzed from the neck down. It will take a while for my internal systems to effect repairs. Until then, I would be just oh-so delighted to tell you everything I know from the beginning."

Jazz leaned closer and listened to the large robotic ghost as he began.

_Young Danny Fenton; he was just fourteen when his parents built a very strange machine . . ._

* * *

As soon as Phantom entered the Ghost Zone he noticed two things. First was that the pain in his body had stopped getting steadily worse. Second was that the pain began to diminish. He looked down and saw, with an indescribable amount of happiness that the wound in his stomach was rapidly sealing. It was momentarily eclipsed by the curiosity that began to fester in his mind. 

"How did that happen?"

Wulf only growled in response, still carrying Phantom in his arms. He knew that trying to communicate was pointless. The ghost-child didn't understand his language.

"Well thanks, I guess. You can let me go now; I need to get back to-"

Phantom felt the ghost wrap a large furry hand around the back of his neck before he was thrown into a wall.

"Alright, you're about as confusing as a Rubik's Cube," Phantom rubbed his forehead.

He prepared to attack, but was stopped when an actual Rubik's Cube appeared before him. The colors were scrambled, but soon they began to spin on their own accord. Within ten seconds, all the colors were perfectly aligned. And then the ghost holding the cube appeared.

The ghost was only about a foot shorter than Wulf, but that still made him almost two feet taller than Danny. The first thing Danny noticed was the ghost's face. It was pale, bone white. Hollow black eyes stared back at him. The rest of the ghost's attire did little to deviate from the trend. A white spandex shirt covered the impossibly muscular torso. Black gloves covered the ghost's hands. The pants of the ghost were black and white boots covered the ghost's feet and lower legs. There was an odd emblem on the ghost's black collar, but Danny wasn't close enough to see it.

"Perhaps you are just too stupid to comprehend Wulf's actions. He is not confusing at all." The ghost crushed the Rubik's cube in his fist and let the remains float away.

"Who are you?" Danny asked, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of his freshly healed stomach.

"I am Walker," the ghost said, placing a hand on his chest. "You've already met my companion," Walker gestured to Wulf, who was sitting on a rock floating nearby.

"Yeah, I have." Danny glared at the canine.

"You obviously do not speak Esperanto," Walker said with a hint of disappointment. "That's too bad. We could have skipped this senseless talking and gotten straight to the point."

"Which is?"

Phantom saw Walker's punch to his jaw for only a second before his head snapped back and his momentum carried him above the roof of the building they were near. Walker teleported above him and kicked the ghost boy in the stomach, sending him crashing into the top of the structure.

"Alright, that's it! I've had it with you ghosts! I didn't do anything to you, and I-"

Walker didn't give time for Phantom to finish. A beam of red energy ripped through Phantom's chest, knocking him down again. Walker flew in, grabbed him by the wrist and swung him into a passing boulder, shattering it.

Phantom recovered from the attack and dodged some of the smaller rocks that had broken off from the large boulder. "That the best you can do?"

Walker growled and summoned ectoplasm to his hands. The energy exploded from his fists and Phantom barely dodged the twin blasts. He fired several of his own, but the few that hit Walker did nothing.

"You cannot run from what you have done, Danny Phantom!" Walker roared as he continued to fire at Phantom. "You will pay for your transgressions!"

"I haven't _done_ anything!" Phantom shouted back as he began to fire more powerful blasts. These ones actually made Walker flinch on impact. "But maybe I'll have to pay after what I do to you!"

Walker screamed in rage and flew in close. Phantom fired a fully charged blast into Walker's chest just before the ghost could land a punch. The hole in his chest was rather large, and Phantom grinned in satisfaction. That was until the wound sealed over itself. Even the fabric of Walker's spandex was mended.

"How did you-"

"You think you're the only ghost who can regenerate?" Walker spat. "You are full of self confidence and pompousness even at this age!"

Phantom dodged a bone-breaking punch aimed at his head and grabbed Walker's arm, flipping the ghost over him. The ghost boy flowed through with several blasts containing as much energy as he could put into them. Walker spun around and absorbed the blasts into his open palms. Phantom grimaced and began charging an electric attack, only to be hit by one fired by Walker. Red electricity surged through his body and Phantom cried out in pain.

"You call on powers you don't even understand to save you from the inevitable," Walker grinned as he cut the attack off. "Don't expect to be able to do that for a while. My electroplasm is of the exact opposite polarity of yours. Of course, you won't have to worry about that much longer."

Walker split in two and each copy fired two beams of red energy at Phantom. The ghost boy didn't even have time to react as all four beams tore through his body. He cried out, but it was stifled as a third Walker slammed a fist into his face. A fourth one caught him by the leg and slammed him back down onto the roof of the prison.

Phantom struggled to rise, but the Walkers were on him. One fired red ectoplasmic blades into his still-healing chest. Another flew up high and charged a massive attack in his hands. The orb of red energy was easily larger than the Fenton household. Phantom was unable to see the impending attack as the remaining two Walkers lassoed his neck, feeding electroplasm into it.

The Walker floating above the prison loosed the massive attack down on the ghost boy. The three copies continued the attack until the orb hit, taking out all three of them. When the dust from the destroyed prison cleared, Phantom lay motionless on the floor. Most of his upper body was vaporized, leaving only bone and tendon behind.

"How ironic," Walker said casually as he floated down into the building. The large expenditure of energy didn't seem to faze him at all. "Lord Phantom, self-proclaimed God of all that is, dies in a prison." Walker spat on Phantom's face, which had reformed along with the rest of his body. "How fitting for the end of a tyrant."

"I-I don't," Phantom coughed, "I don't understand! I'm not a tyrant! I-I never d-did _anything_!"

"It's not what you've done; it's what you're going to do!" Walker landed on the floor next to Phantom and knelt next to his head. "And as long as I have the power to stop it, I won't let you hurt any of them!"

"Hurt who?! I haven't hurt anyone!"

"Oh stop with this foolishness!" Walker stomped Phantom into the ground as he tried to stand. "You made life hell for me from the moment of my conception! Once I was old enough to understand what you did, I knew there was only one way to stop you. You had to be killed before you came to power!"

"Before I _what?!_ Why are you doing this?!"

"Because **I AM YOUR SON**!" Walker bellowed. Phantom gawked at the massive pale ghost as it built up another attack. The red ectoplasm was dripping from his hands. "Yours and Paulina Fenton's!"

At that, Phantom nearly fainted. It was good that he did not, because he would not have seen the pink lance of ectoplasm that ripped through Walker's skull, burrowing through one ear and bursting out the other. Walker's red energy attack discharged into floor, propelling the temporarily incapacitated ghost into the void of the Ghost Zone.

"Daniel!" Plasmius exclaimed upon seeing Phantom's battered body. "Are you alright?"

"Well," he commented, wiping Walker's glowing saliva off his face. "I've been worse. Can you do me a solid and get me out of here? I promise to give you a free shot when we meet again."

Plasmius grinned and helped Phantom up into the air. He floated up through the ruined prison and looked for Walker – his son – and sighed with relief when the ghost was nowhere to be seen.

"Come, this way," Plasmius beckoned. Phantom followed and soon, they were hovering outside the Ghost Portal. "That was quite an adventure," the older hybrid remarked, eyeing Phantom suspiciously. "What was that about you and Paulina _Fenton_?"

The ghost boy shook his head. "I have no idea."

"You would do well to avoid her from now on," Plasmius continued. "If you two spawn that . . . _abomination_, well, I don't think it bodes well for any living thing."

Phantom scowled at the woman before making his way to the portal.

"And remember!" she called after him. "Free shot!"

Phantom extended his middle finger and vanished through the portal.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Told you he wasn't Clockwork's son, sillies. Hope that this extra-long chapter amazed you. I'll wrap things up in the next (and last) chapter of this segment. Thanks for reading!_

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ darkbunny92, slyfoxx, The Golden Hat, Musicallity, Bloxham, Writin' Dude, Fulcon, Adran06, MissMeliss4251, _and_ dpphan333.

_And to my dear_ Musicallity, _and anyone else who wanted to know, the poll can be located at the top of my profile page._

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY?**


	73. Seeds of the Future 9

Chapter LXXIX

Jazz sat on a folding chair that had been brought to the roof of Fenton Works. She had wrapped herself in a heavy winter jacket, although Spring had already sprung. The early morning air was only slightly chilly, but if there was one thing Jazz hated, it was the cold. Floating in front of her was Danny, or Phantom, or whatever he was calling himself these days. Off to the side was Skulker. His armor had repaired itself as he told Jazz the story of how Danny became Phantom. The repairs were only temporary and would eventually require a more permanent solution, but it would hold for now.

"This is a lot to take in," Jazz said finally. She had just been told the identity of the ghost that Phantom had met up with in the Ghost Zone, including his unique parentage. On top of a novel's worth of information regarding Danny's exploits as a ghost, the information was almost overwhelming. "I'm going to need some time to get used to this."

Phantom nodded. "I understand."

"So when did mom and dad find out?"

Phantom glared at Skulker. "You didn't tell her?"

"Was I supposed to?"

Phantom smacked his forehead.

"What?" Jazz asked in a concerned tone. After seeing the exasperated look on her brother's face, realization set in. "Oh Danny, you didn't tell them?"

"No," Phantom whined. "And I'm not going to."

"But why? Danny, you're their son!" Jazz exclaimed, standing from her chair. "They love you no matter what you are!"

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say," Phantom floated over to the edge of the roof. "Mom and dad hate ghosts. They think we're – they're all evil. I thought they were starting to warm up to my ghost half, but then the Shadow Ghost thing happened and they blamed me for it." Phantom looked down at his body. "Well, ghost-me. Not human-me."

"But if you just told them-"

"It isn't that simple," Phantom interrupted, turning back to face his sister. "They've known me as their son; as human and normal as can be. If I dropped this bombshell on them, do you think they'd react as calmly as you did?"

"I'd hardly call it calm," Jazz mumbled. "What if I told them for you?"

"No!" Phantom flew closer to Jazz, terror glowed in his eyes. "Please, I'm begging you, don't tell them! I have enough to deal with right now and I-" the ghost boy took a deep breath. "I just want some things to stay the same. Knowing that I have a family that loves at least part of me is what helps me get through some of the harder days. If I lost that . . ."

Jazz bit her lower lip as Phantom trailed off. "Alright Danny, I won't tell them. Just promise me one thing." Phantom nodded his head. "Promise me that you'll tell them yourself some day. You can't keep this from them forever, and you'll only end up hurting them if you keep it bottled up."

Phantom nodded again, a weak smile grew on his face. "Thanks Jazz. You're the best."

The girl hugged her brother from where he floated. "I know. Now get to school. I'll be there later. And if you ever need to talk about something, you know where my office is."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Yes _doctor_."

The ghost boy turned to Skulker. "Well I guess this is goodbye for now. You heading back?"

Skulker had decided it was best not to tell Jazz that his boss was Vanessa Masters; the billionaire who was also a half ghost who wanted to kill her mother, marry her father and have her brother become something akin to a protégé. Phantom was unsure what Skulker had told his sister, but felt that Plasmius' true identity could be left out of the picture for a while.

"Yes, I am," the mercenary responded. "I'll leave you to explain things to Sam. If she sees too much of me, she's going to believe that I'm some sort of commodity."

Jazz quirked an eyebrow. "Uh, what do you have to do with Sam?"

Skulker looked at the girl with a similar expression. His processor clicked and his expression softened as much as a mechanical one could. "I must have left that part out. Samantha is my niece."

Jazz gawked at the massive robot. "You're joking!"

"'Fraid not," Phantom sighed. "A shame, too, he's a real stitch. You should see his stand up routine!"

Skulker fired a tiny ecto-beam from his pinky that hit Phantom in the forehead. "Get to school. You're going to be late."

Phantom's eyes widened. "Oh crap! I gotta go!"

Jazz was almost lifted off her feet as her brother sped away as fast as he could. She looked at Skulker, whose flaming green Mohawk was flickering around in Phantom's wake.

"Daniel may have thought his life was complicated before," Skulker shook his head. "He has no idea what's in store for him." The robot watched as Phantom disappeared from view. "He can't possibly survive on his own. Even with Samantha and Tucker by his side, there is just too much for him to handle. You may need to be forceful in getting him to talk to you about his problems. I fear his unwillingness to speak to others may be one of many things that lead to his future and the birth of his son."

Jazz wrapped her arms around herself as a cold wind swept across the roof of her home. "I'll do my best," she said quietly. "I just hope I'm not already too late."

Skulker turned to look at the young woman. "What do you mean?"

"If his son came from the future, then whatever will lead to that future has already happened. Either that, or Danny has done something that will make it an inevitability."

Skulker rubbed his flaming goatee. "An interesting analysis. However, my intelligence shows that Walker arrived in our tangent as far back as twenty years ago. So whatever leads to his birth and Daniel's horrible future may have transpired as far back as then, possibly even further."

"Could it be that the future Walker came from is the actual future of our own tangent?"

Skulker sighed. "I hope not. If Walker is as powerful as Daniel described, then I'd hate to see what Daniel himself would be like."

Jazz shuddered. Her brother becoming evil and making a child like Walker was unthinkable. And yet, at some point in the future, it had happened. When had she failed her brother? Or worse still, when had her brother failed himself?

* * *

Sam and Tucker had been eagerly awaiting Danny's story through all their morning classes. At lunch, all they could do was stare at their best friend. 

"Your son came back from the future to kill you?" Tucker asked slowly.

"You have a son?" Sam echoed.

"That doesn't seem logical," Tucker continued. "If he killed you then that would kill him as well."

"You have a son?" Sam repeated.

"I know," Danny replied, ignoring Sam. "But he was so determined, saying stuff like I'm a tyrant and I killed people. Maybe he thought it would be worth it?"

"I guess," Tucker said thoughtfully. "That still leaves us with one big question."

"You have a son?" Sam asked for a third time.

"Yes, Sam, yes, I have a son!" Danny threw up his arms. "How many times do I need to say it?"

"That wasn't it," Tucker said. He inhaled, preparing to propose it to his friends.

"Who is his mother?" Sam interrupted.

Tucker let the breath out. His eyes widened in sudden curiosity. "Well that's a good one too."

Danny cast a furtive glance over at the A-List table. Paulina looked as perky as always, talking and laughing and having a good time with all her friends.

"I'd, uh," he looked back down at the table. "I'd rather not say."

"Come on, dude, you have to tell us now!" Tucker said with a grin. "Its Sam, isn't it?"

"If it was Sam, I wouldn't have a problem telling you guys," he caught Sam's blush and his own face reddened. "And I don't think our son would try to kill me."

"Well then who was it, if not your girlfriend?"

Sam and Danny glared daggers at Tucker, who held up his hands in surrender. "Alright! I'm done! But seriously, who was it?"

Danny sighed and dropped his head into his folded arms. There was no way he was going to get the two to leave this one alone. They'd pester him about it until the day Walker was born. "Plina" he grumbled into his sleeve.

"I'm sorry?" Tucker asked. "Who?"

"Aulna," he grumbled again.

"One more time?" Sam poked Danny in the elbow.

"_Paulina!_" He growled in a whisper. "She's the one I . . . uh, well, you know."

Tucker's grin faded away. Sam's eyes widened.

"Dude," Tucker said in a hushed voice. "Are you kidding me? You and Paulina?"

"You guys wanted to know so badly!" Danny hissed before burying his head in his arms again. His ears were red with embarrassment.

Sam grinned. "It figures you'd make a homicidal baby with her."

"Knock it off, Sam," Danny mumbled.

"She probably comes from a long line of maniacs. It all makes sense now!"

"Sam, cut it out," Danny peered over his arm, revealing his glowing green eyes.

"And for all the ways for karma to come back and bite you, she gives you a deranged psychopath for a son and sets him lose on you."

"Shut up, Sam, I'm not even kidding," Danny growled.

Sam crossed her arms. "I don't know why you're getting mad at me; Paulina's the one who-" Danny turned the part of her table where her salad was intangible. The lunch fell though to the floor beneath. "What the hell, Danny?" she exclaimed.

"Do not talk about my family like that."

The two teenagers opposite him looked at their friend in bewilderment. "Your family?"

"Walker may have tried to kill me, but he's still my son. Or will be. I messed up – _will _mess, uh, hmm." Danny rubbed his chin. "Ok, _somewhere_ along the way, _something_ goes wrong; big time. He probably is justified to the bone for wanting me dead. And if I, uh, end up failing him and Paulina as badly as he says I did, er, _will_, maybe I'm better off dead."

"Don't say that!" Tucker gasped. "There's no way you screwed up because of a one night stand with Paulina Sanchez, no matter how badly this Walker guy thinks you did."

Danny moaned in frustration. "Tuck, I don't think my son would hunt me through time to kill me for knocking up his mom and leaving them. It happens all the time."

"Yeah, but all those other kids don't have ghost powers and they can't travel through time," Sam offered. "You son can, apparently."

"That is not what happened," Danny said tiredly. "Guys, Paulina is my wife in the future."

Sam and Tucker were speechless.

"Your wha-?"

Well, almost speechless.

"He said he was my son, Sam; mine and Paulina _Fenton's_. I don't know how much clearer he could have been."

Tucker placed a comforting hand on Sam's trembling shoulder. "Maybe it was another Paulina?"

"Come on, Tuck," Danny said as he readjusted his arms. "How many _Paulina_s do we know?"

"There could be lots of them! Maybe Walker was born in Mexico! Or Spain! Or-"

"Tucker, you know as well as I do that he wasn't." Danny looked over at Paulina. "Somewhere or some_when_ in the future, I marry Paulina; or its some ghostly equivalent of marriage. Whatever I do whenever I do it, we have a son. And he hates me." Danny sighed and gathered his things. "I'm a horrible father and a horrible husband, and I'm a single, childless fourteen year-old. Plasmius should've just let him kill me."

Danny stood up and ambled away. The despair was practically dripping off him.

"Sam," Tucker started. "I know this isn't the best time, but you should really consider what I've been telling you for the past week."

Sam looked at her friend with a hopeless look to match Danny's. "What would that be?"

"You need to ask him out."

Sam felt like punching Tucker right in the face. "You better be joking," she fumed.

"I'm not. Don't you get it? Do you see what happened when another girl even took _interest_ in him? You're probably right about Paulina coming from a long line of homicidal maniacs, but are you going to stand by and let that happen?"

"What if that future happens because I tell him? What if I chase him right to Paulina? What if I'm responsible for that future?"

"Listen to yourself!" Tucker exclaimed. "That's absurd! Danny is the one who has to shape that future. We have to support him! We have to be there for him! Whatever it takes, we have to make sure that future doesn't happen."

"Why so scared?"

Tucker lifted his beret and scratched his head. "In a future where Danny is some evil monster, married to Paulina with a son like Walker, do you honestly think he would care about us or anyone else for that matter? I hate to think about what he could do in even ten years if he stopped playing super-hero."

Sam considered Tucker's words. "I guess so."

"Sam, we need to keep him away from Paulina. You're not the one who causes that future, but you might be the only one who can stop it."

Sam grabbed her book bag. "I can't, Tucker," she replied. Her tone was as sad as Tucker had ever heard it. "Not right now. I have to go."

Tucker watched as his second friend rushed out of the cafeteria and sighed as the doors closed. The boy stood up and made his way to the exit. If things kept going at this rate, he was bound to have one lonely future.

* * *

Danny entered the library and took a seat at the back of the room. He should have been using the free day his teachers had given him to catch up on school work, but even if he was a normal boy, he probably wouldn't have done so anyway. 

Instead, he thought about all the horrible things that would happen if he continued to associate with Paulina, his mind raced with terrible thoughts, each one more gruesome and unsavory as the last.

_**Stop that, you idiot!**_

**Yes, please stop. You're making me nauseous, and I'm supposed to like violence.**

_**Regardless of what Walker told you, merely holding a conversation with that girl will not ensure his creation. It does, however, increase the probability that you two will mate, resulting in Walker's birth.**_

**Quiet, you fool! Danny doesn't need reminding of that.**

_Guys, was he really my son?_

_**Yes, he was.**_

**You should be proud to have spawned such a powerful being! Just imagine how strong you are in that future!**

_**Silence! I could detect our influence in him. You may have passed us on to him when he was conceived. Whatever the case may be, he was your offspring.**_

_Wait, at conception? Does that mean-_

**No, you're not going to get rid of us by, uh, you know, THAT.**

_**Through mating you pass on your more powerful characteristics to your offspring. Walker inherited some of your more advanced powers, but he was holding back to a great extent. We detected ourselves within him as well.**_

**Maybe we influenced him to go easy on you.**

_**Or, more likely, we wanted Walker to measure your strength to ascertain just how powerful you were.**_

_What good would that do? He obviously doesn't need to figure out how strong I am to beat me to death!_

_**Walker might not know exactly at what point in time he is. If he can determine the strength of your power, then we would be able to tell him exactly how far back in time he is.**_

_Thanks a lot, _Danny thought with sarcasm.

**Think of it this way. You got to have sex with Paulina Sanchez! How awesome is that?**

_**While the brute is often borderline retarded, I must agree with his assessment. Bravo, Daniel. Who knows, maybe you managed to accomplish that without my assistance.**_

**Your assistance? Do not take credit for what is obviously my doing!**

_**YOUR DOING? **_

**YES, MY DOING!**

_Can we at least wait until my self pity has died down? I feel a headache coming on._

Suddenly, twin jets of green mist streamed from his nose. Danny turned around in time to see some ghost monster fly past the window. Valerie streaked past the glass seconds later. Danny slid under the table, thankful he was alone in the library, and turned invisible.

"Going ghost!" he whispered. The silver-green rings formed at his waist and unlocked Phantom from within his molecular structure.

The ghost boy turned intangible and flew out the window. The wind whipped at his snowy white hair and flowed around his lean body. Phantom closed his eyes and grinned. It was good to be back.

* * *

Deep in the Ghost Zone, the still body of Walker floated in stasis. The wound in his head had healed up some time ago. When he mentally reviewed how much time had passed since the mysterious ghost had stopped him from destroying Danny Phantom. It had been over two weeks. 

_**ArE yOu AwAkE?**_

_Yes,_ Walker replied mentally. _What happened?_

_**DaNnY PhAnToM eScApEd. PlAsMiUs SaVeD hIm.**_

Walker's empty black eyes snapped open. His face contorted in rage. "Plasmius?"

_**YeS. ThE gHoSt WoMaN. ThE oNe WhO-**_

"I do not need reminding of what she did," Walker said through clenched teeth. "Where is she?"

_**YoU CaNnOt Go To HeR! ShE iS tOo PoWeRfUl**_

"Even for someone of my strength?"

_**YeS!**_

"Curious. My father killed her without even breaking a sweat."

_**YoU dO nOt KnOw ThAt**_

"My father is not a liar. One does not command the universe by _lying_ about brute force."

_**YoU rEsPeCt HiM?**_

"Never," Walker growled. "I shall kill him with my bare hands; even if it means slaughtering every living thing in my way."

_**WhAt PuRpOsE dOeS tHaT sErVe? ArE yOu NoT tRyInG tO sAvE lIvEs?**_

Walker pondered the voice's statement. "These humans are of no consequence to me. Even if all of Amity Park should perish to save two dimensions, I think it is acceptable."

_**AcCePtAbLe tO yOu PeRhApS. yOuR fAtHeR hAd A vErY dIfFeReNt DeFiNiTiOn Of**_ _**ThE wOrD.**_

"My father is not your host any longer. You did nothing to save him when you had the chance and you helped in cementing his power. I have half a mind to purge you right now."

_**YoU'vE hAd HaLf A mInD tO dO sO fOr ThIrTy YeArS aNd YeT hErE wE aRe, StIlL**_ _**iNtAcT.**_

Walker remained silent.

_**MaYbE YoU wOuLd SuRvIvE tHe PrOcEsS. bUt YoU wOuLd LoSe A mAjOr**_ _**TaCtIcAl AdVaNtAgE oVeR yOuR fAtHeR.**_

Walker sighed in resignation. He needed the voice to succeed as much as the voice needed him to survive.

_**YoU mUsT gO iNtO hIdInG fOr nOw. An OpPoRtUnItY tO fInAlLy DeStRoY**_ _**dAnNy PhAnToM wIlL sOoN pReSeNt ItSeLf To YoU.**_

"One will come to me?"

_**YeS. bE pAtIeNt, WaLkEr. AlL iS PrOcEeDiNg AcCoRdInG tO BuLlEt'S pRoPhEcY.**_ _**dAnNy PhAnToM wIlL dIe. **_

Walker nodded and closed his eyes. His body continued to float through the Ghost Zone uninterrupted, traveling further and further away from the known regions. His sleeping form finally came to a rest on a massive island, easily the size of a continent. The mysterious land mass was dominated by a massive mountain that rose up at the edge. A large castle sat at the peak, watching over the Ghost Zone. Walker wouldn't find out where he was after he awoke. Even the voice wouldn't know.

It was an excusable ignorance, however. Lord Phantom never had any stories to pass on to his son about Pariah Dark.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I wanted to tie things up from every perspective I thought was important. Jazz finally knows Danny's secret, and Danny knows that Jazz knows. I didn't like how that whole "I know your secret, but I wont tell you I know" went from season one all the way to half way through season two. And who better to fill in the gaps than Skulker? _

_Hope you all liked this segment. Its one of the more thought-provoking in the story so far, at least I think it is. Not sure what the next segment is going to be. I'll think about it and get back to you._

_Thanks to all my reviewers (Egads! Almost 900!), especially_ Goldamon X, Musicallity, Bloxham, Writin' Dude, Sapphire Wolf Master, dpphan333, darkbunny92, MissMeliss4251, The Golden Hat, StoneSeraphim, _and _AvatarKatara38.

_Also, while there is already a clear-cut winner in my poll, I still urge everyone to participate. You can cast your e-ballot by viewing my profile page then by using the link in the Poll bar at the top of the page. If you can't find it, well, I don't know how much clearer I can be._

**LAUNCH THE COUNTER-OFFENSIVE!**


	74. Augmentation 1

**Augmentation**

Chapter LXXX

Vanessa's eyes snapped open and she jolted upright in her bed. The woman was considered to be a light sleeper, and even the tiniest nightly disturbance could jostle the woman from the land of dreams. Regardless, the loud crash that echoed up to the fourth floor of her rather spacious castle all the way from the underground laboratory could have woken Rip Van Winkle. 

Vanessa sighed and transformed into her ghost half. The black-purple ring formed at her waist and traveled along her body as she moved out of her bed. The forty two year old woman who had lazily plodded from her luxurious bed was not the same person that exited the bedroom. Plasmius, the vampiric ghoul that was more commonly known as the Wisconsin Ghost, looked down the expansive hallway to her left, then to her right. She levitated off the ground with a yawn and slowly descended down through the floor. Once on the third level she repeated her halfhearted search, looking down the hallway she had entered. This continued until the ghost woman had arrived on the first floor of her castle. 

She knew it would take much longer to perform a thorough investigation of her estate if there was indeed a ghastly intruder about. Being that it was somewhere around four thirty in the morning, Plasmius just didn't have the drive to care. After discerning that there was no ghost in her green and gold foyer, she concluded that there was no ghost anywhere on the first floor of her residence, or on any floor above it for that matter.

The half ghost became intangible and fazed through her floor yet again, traveling underground to her laboratory. Cautiously poking her head through the wall, the sight that greeted her solid red eyes was enough to wipe away all traces of dreariness. Her lab was in an extreme state of disrepair. Equipment was strewn on the floor, most of it broken. Computers were sheared in half, documents littered the floor and the Ghost Portal was . . . open.

Plasmius grimaced in anger. There were few ghosts powerful enough to open her portal with brute force. If one of them was responsible, she knew that the ghost would not be raiding her laboratory. Other weaker ghost had some unknown way of creating their own portals or, in several cases, causing hers to malfunction. Still, as with a brutally powerful ghost, a weaker specimen would not be so dead set on tearing her lab apart. It was possible that this ghost activated her portal through different means. Even Plasmius, with her extensive knowledge of the Ghost Zone and its inhabitants, did not know _everything_.

The intruder was opting to remain invisible, for whatever reason it had for doing so. Plasmius would have none of that. When the invisible hand lifted a beaker for closer inspection, the ghost woman aimed a blast of pink energy at where she determined was the ghost's center mass. She grinned as a black cloak became visible before slamming into a reinforced wall. A pair of green and decidedly feminine legs stuck out from under the ghostly cloth as it fell to the ground.

"I suppose hiding my portal behind a large pink football doesn't work very well in the Ghost Zone, does it?" she asked as her hands began to glow with ectoplasm.

The ghost righted herself from the ground and floated in place. Her hood had fallen back, revealing a disarmingly beautiful face. If Plasmius was a man, she might have been momentarily distracted. But the green skin and wildly spiked hair acted as something of a deterrent. However, Plasmius was quite sure she was heterosexual and the blasts of energy struck the intruder right in the face without hesitation.

The ghost recovered from the attack and raised an arm. One of her many tattoos sprung to life and slithered from the appendage. Plasmius looked a large serpent in the eyes before decapitating it with her ocular beams.

"You don't speak, do you?" Plasmius asked as she fended off more ghostly tattoo animals. "Perhaps you don't understand words either." Plasmius split into two copies. "But if you do, then here's a message." One of them punched the intruder in the face. The other fired a wide blast of energy into the ghost as she was propelled across the room. "STAY OUT OF MY HOME!" The attack knocked her into the Ghost Portal.

Plasmius recombined and sighed as she looked around her lab. It was quite a wreck. But she determined that nothing was missing. Nothing except-

"No!" Plasmius rushed over to the chemical vault; the disaster proof door had been opened. Inside the chilled atmosphere were several vials of liquid. They contained several instrumental and vital substances, such as Danny Fenton's human blood before his accident, his blood after his accident, his ghost blood at various stages after his accident, the sample of mid-morph DNA Technus had stolen from the GIW, a sample of the shadow ghost that had been attached to Phantom and the last vial . . . was gone. Plasmius roared in anger and slammed the door shut behind her as she stormed from the vault, intent on following the intruding harlot into the deepest depths of the Ghost Zone. 

It wasn't until her head was cleared did she hear the blaring alarm coming from across the room. The ghost woman gasped in horror at the digital display on the Ghost Portal's status.

"_WARNING_," a digital voice said. "_ECTO-FILTRATOR HAS REACHED MAXIMUM CAPACITY._" Plasmius looked at where the filtrator was supposed to be. The diagnostic report was incorrect. The device was not full, it was destroyed. "_CORE MELTDOWN IN FIVE SECONDS._"

"Oh butter biscuits!" Plasmius turned intangible as the Ghost Portal violently exploded. The entire castle was engulfed in ectoplasmic fire, effectively leveling the structure.

* * *

�

Danny Fenton looked at his test paper with unbridled glee. A **B **was scribbled at the top of it in Mr. Lancer's handwriting.

"Good work, Mr. Fenton," the teacher said quietly as he rolled past, handing out papers as he went. "I'm glad to see that you're getting reorganized."

Danny smiled. "I just had some stuff I needed to figure out, Mr. Lancer," the boy replied in a hushed tone. "It's good to be back."

The teacher gave his pupil an approving nod and continued on his way. Danny leaned back in his desk, clasping his hands behind his head. Ghosts had been appearing less frequently as of late. Danny was starting to wonder if Plasmius had run out of bizarre mutants to throw at him or if word was finally getting back to the Ghost Zone from the few survivors that were returned there that Phantom was not happy about their presence. Whatever ghosts did show up were usually dealt with by Valerie, who was quickly becoming more skilled as a ghost hunter. 

The thought wiped the smirk off Danny's face. True, he was strong enough to deal with whatever Valerie threw at him as the Huntress, but he couldn't help but notice that his ex-girlfriend was always just a smidgen faster, stronger, and all around better with each passing encounter. The ghost boy worried that he was losing his touch. It would be very unfortunate if he was ever bested by the young woman in combat. For the longest time, Danny only engaged the young woman to keep him on his toes. The tide was slowly but surely turning against him and if Valerie ever did manage to beat him, she wouldn't vacuum him into a thermos and hand him over to the authorities. She would kill him. It was that simple.

Although Valerie would eventually be on par with him one day, eventually could be a very, very long time. Danny decided not to worry about it. Ever since he had stopped appearing in town as often, only to deal with the bigger ghostly offenders, his approval ratings had actually increased. He wasn't too keen on the reports that said PHANTOM LEARNS HIS PLACE and the like, but it was better than being unanimously hated.

Danny was jarred from his reverie by a piece of paper that hit him in the forehead. It fell to his desk and sat there, waiting to be opened. Danny glared at it before glancing around the room. Tucker was too busy paying attention to Lancer's lecture on the Victorian Age and Sam was doodling in her notebook. Slightly confused, Danny opened up the note anyway.

_Danny_, it read, _what is up with you?_

Danny raised an eyebrow. The handwriting was clearly Paulina Sanchez's, but he had no idea why the girl would bother to throw notes at him. He looked ahead in the classroom. The girl in question was two seats ahead of him in the row over. He grinned as he saw the girl's book bag was opened wide enough to catch any stray pieces of paper that may happen to pass by.

Danny uncapped his pen and turned it on the ample amount of room left on Paulina's note.

_I'm fine_, he scribbled. _Why do you ask?_

He folded the note back into a tiny square and flicked it at the girl's open bag when Lancer's back was turned. Casually, Paulina reached over and retrieved the piece of paper. She scribbled another message down and tossed it at Danny's head. The paper hit him in the face again and fell to his desk.

_You've been acting normal lately. Is something wrong?_

Danny rolled his eyes.

_Not that you care, but I managed to get my life under control. Now I have time to be normal._

The note was again passed up to Paulina.

_Don't say that! I do care! It's just that you were acting different and I wanted to make sure you were ok!_

_Well thank you. I am fine, no thanks to Dash and those guys._

_Don't let them get to you. Dash just doesn't like to be dissed._

_I never dissed Dash! Not when we were friends, anyway._

_He thinks you did. When you ran away to go find the ghost boy at his parties and stuff, he thinks you just freaked out and ran away._

Danny rubbed his chin. The right words could, potentially, get him back in good standing with the A-List crew. _Ok, think about it this way; your parents are obsessive ghost hunters. If there was a ghost attacking, would you really want to be there when they showed up? _

_That's exactly what I told Dash! _The return note said. _He didn't buy it completely, but I'll tell him you said that. Don't you worry, Danny, I'll patch things up between you two and you'll be back at our table in no time._

_Wow, that's really nice of you. Thanks!_

_Don't mention it. Besides, I kinda miss sitting next to you in that big comfy chair at Dash's house._

Danny felt his face warm up. Before he could etch his response onto the piece of paper, a petite, slightly pale hand with black nail polish reached over and grabbed the piece of paper off Danny's desk. The boy stared at Sam Manson, who had taken a sudden interest in his conversation. The girl read through the note, made several disgusted and mocking gestures before writing her own message on the paper.

_**Are you crazy?**_ Sam's neon green marker made Danny's eyes hurt. _**Do you WANT Walker to happen?**_

Danny sighed. Was it going to be like this from now on with Sam?

"Mr. Fenton? Miss Manson?" Mr. Lancer said, interrupting his lecture. "Would one of you care to bring that note to the front of the class and read it out loud?"

"Just some class stuff," Danny said, shuffling the papers around on his desk and handing another one to Sam. "Making sure I have everything."

Mr. Lancer rolled his eyes and returned to his discussion. Using the diverted attention to his advantage, Danny grabbed a page and crinkled it into a ball before throwing it into the air. Mikey, his long time friend from grade school, saw the incoming projectile and swatted it into the trash can. 

_No more note, no more problem._

"Very impressive," Mr. Lancer commented upon seeing the shot. "But let's try not to do that from now on, ok? If you miss, I'll be forced to give you detention."

Danny air-fived Mikey before returning to his book.

_**Samantha does have a well-rounded point.**_

**Yes, but Paulina has two well rounded-**

_**Stop with the innuendo, you idiot! You have gone nonstop with that banter for two weeks!**_

**We all know she is superior to Sam in almost every aspect!**

_**Be that as it may, Daniel has more important things to worry about than beautiful Latino women.**_

**So you agree!  
**

_**I never disagreed, but I want Daniel to have his priorities in order. Education is his primary focus. **_

_Tell me why that is, again?_

_**Education will ensure that you can live a normal life, should you choose to. It will probably be best to lay low once you reach adulthood.**_

**Laying low is for COWARDS! Daniel should be outside RIGHT NOW painting this town red with the blood of his enemies!**

_**Yes, because murdering what few human enemies he has and splattering their gore over Amity Park will do wonders for his public image. Bravo.**_

**Thank you.**

_**THAT WAS SARCASM!**_

**I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!**

_Guys, calm down. My head, my rules, remember?_

_**I apologize for THAT ONE'S behavior.**_

**Yes, perhaps SOME OF US should learn when to be silent!**

_You guys could both learn a lot about that. Now please, let's try to let me have a normal day. We almost got through one yesterday without blowing it._

_**How did we fail?**_

_When you guys go on and on, I lose track of whether I'm supposed to think at you or yell at you. I ended up threatening the Home Ec. teacher, from what I was told._

**That wench should learn not to interrupt!**

_Well until she does, can we keep it down? We're all in the same head here; we don't have to be so loud. And normal humans just don't get it when I tell them I'm going to purge them from my mind molecule by molecule._

"Hey Danny," Paulina's voice cut in. The boy was grateful for the reprieve. "You never sent that note back."

Danny noticed the class was slowly filing out, headed to their next class. "Oh, yeah, sorry," he caught an angry glare from Sam before she left. "Sam kinda grabbed it off me and wrote something," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nothing, really. She's just, you know, being Sam."

Paulina sighed. "I don't know why she hates me so much. I never did anything to her."

Danny felt the strings of pity pluck inside him. "Don't worry about Sam. She just hate's the cool crowd."

Paulina smiled and walked with Danny as he made his way to his class. "You think I'm cool?"

Danny was taken aback by the question. "Well yeah, I mean, you're a cheerleader, you're nice for the most part, you're pretty, I don't know what else there is that defines cool."

"For the most part?" she repeated.

"Oh, well, you know," Danny cleared his throat. "I mean, you're nice to me, anyway. I guess Sam just gives off the impression that you're not nice to anyone else."

"And you believe her?"

Danny stopped by the stair case. "You know, I never really gave it much thought. You're definitely not shallow and manipulative like she says you are . . ."

"She says _what?_"

Danny mentally smacked himself. "Look, I think you're nice and I like you. Don't worry about what Sam says; she's just, you know, different."

Paulina seemed to think about his statement for a while. "Is that why you like her so much?"

"Wha- oh, well, I mean, I don't like her like _that_," Danny stumbled over his words. "She's my best friend and I've known her ever since I can remember. She's independent and all that stuff and that's what makes her, well, _her_."

"So you _don't_ like her?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Not like _that_, no."

"Then do you wanna do something this weekend?"

Danny's jaw dropped slightly, but he felt the influence of his others pull it back up. His heart rate leveled out to what was normal for him and his cluttered mind was cleared.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Oh," Paulina looked at the floor dejectedly.

"It has nothing to do with you or Sam or anyone else," Danny added quickly, his voices keeping him quick on his feet. "Its just that I'm still getting over that Paper Shredder ghost attack and my parents have been following me around a lot." Not the total truth, but not a total lie either. "I wouldn't want them getting in the way or something."

Paulina smirked knowingly at Danny. "Alright," she said finally. "But we should soon. Summer will be here before you know it."

"Why, what happens during Summer?"

Paulina shrugged. "I don't know, I thought we'd lose touch or something."

"Well here," Danny scribbled his cell phone number down on the back of a piece of paper. "Now we don't have to worry about that."

The bell rang and Danny cursed himself for getting caught up before rushing to class. Mr. Falluca was usually late to his room for bio labs anyway, but Danny was still trying to be on time more often.

Paulina stood in the stairwell after Danny had hurried off to class. The piece of paper that Danny had given her his number on was actually their note from the last class. Curious about what Sam said, she flipped it over and read down to the bottom.

_**Are you crazy? Do you WANT Walker to happen?**_

The young Hispanic girl read the bright green lettering over and over as she walked to her study hall. The teacher was friendly and didn't really care if students came in late. It was, after all, a study hall. But Paulina would actually be studying during the class. The curious question Sam had asked Danny surely made Walker to look like a bad thing, whatever it was. 

But then, it seemed anything and everything associated with Paulina was bad in Sam's eyes. If this Walker thing had anything to do with her, Paulina decided it was probably a good thing. And if Sam didn't want Danny to be around her, then perhaps the two were connected somehow. 

Paulina grinned after folding the paper and sliding it into her book bag. She didn't see herself as shallow and manipulative, but the Pseudo-Goth obviously thought otherwise. 

_Alright,_ she thought. _She wants to dance? I'll grind her into dust._

To Be Continued

_A/N: You know what I said? "This chapter is too short!" I said. I looked through it, read it and said "Way too short!" Then I looked at the page count. 8 freakin pages! Every time I do a contemplative chapter that focuses on�character development, it always feels like it's too short because, in real time, nothing is really happening. But it does give you something to think about, I suppose. Don't worry about that happening too often this segment, though. Guess what? 2 new OCs! Well sorta. The one definitely is, but the other is only halfa OC. Lol, I hate that word . . ._

_ANYWAY, Paulina's undeveloped feelings for Danny are showing! And she found out about Walker! Egads! Will she ever really know that Walker is, in fact, a _who_ and not a _what_? And that the _what_, which is actually a _who_, is her son from the future? Hmmm._

_This is mostly a redo of Million Dollar Ghost, but I'm going to tie in elements of Parental Bonding as well. But no dances this time! What is it with Casper High anyway? There's a dance, like, almost every segment! Yeesh! _

_As an aside, some of the episode names make no sense at all. There was minimal bonding in the episode Parental Bonding. It was Danny taking a yuppie to a dance, and then dancing with another yuppie after it turned into a dragon. And Tucker almost danced or did dance with yet another yuppie. God, when will it stop? Oh right . . . the series got cancelled. Maybe now we know why? Misleading episode titles and yuppies coming out the yahoo? Yeah. Think about it._

_GAH! 907 reviews at the time this chapter was finished! You're all wonderful, especially_ Fulcon, MissMeliss4251, Goldamon X, Bloxham, Sapphire Wolf Master, dpphan333, Coppa-Cola, darkness over day, darkbunny92, Musicallity, GeekGirl2, _and_ StoneSeraphim.

_**An egotistical PS:** if this story can hit 974 reviews and get over 677,560 words (at the time of this chapter's posting) then Ultimate Danny Phantom will become the most ultimately-ultra-ultimate Danny Phantom fan fiction EVER created! Actually, that just means it will be the longest and most critically reviewed Danny Phantom fan fiction ever. Not the "best" because I've read stories I like better than mine. But still. It's up to me to get past that 677,560_ (Boy is THAT ever daunting. Thanks a LOT, Green Tima. I've got my work cut out for me now!)_, but I'm counting on you guys to put me over that 974 mark. I'll NEVER hold my story hostage for reviews and I'll continue to post this until it's finished. But it would be AWESOME if _UDP_ earned a different kind of _U.

**DON'T CHANGE THE COLOR OF YOUR HAIR**


	75. Augmentation 2

Chapter LXXXI

The first thing Danny noticed as he slid onto his lab stool was the sudden flare of pain that originated from the right side of the back of his head. He thought his voices had become hostile, especially that brutish, aggressive one. But the realization set in that the voices, not even that one, would harm him while they were inside his body. And his attention was then immediately drawn to a particularly angry Sam Manson.

"What the hell?" Danny grumbled through clenched teeth.

"Don't _what the hell_ me, Danny," Sam replied in an even angrier tone. "You know _exactly_ what the hell."

"Don't _even_ start to lecture me about Paulina," Danny whispered angrily as Mr. Falluca began writing the lab instructions on the board. "You're not the one who has to worry about homicidal children coming back from the future to kill you!"

"You're right," Sam countered. "Because I might not even be alive to _have_ homicidal children in that future!"

"Oh _wah_," Danny mocked as he began to arrange his chemicals in the order his teacher had written on the board. "Poor Sam, who really has no idea about her future. Unlike **some of us**," Danny vigorously poured his chemicals together in a test tube and placed it over a Bunsen burner, "who actually know that our future is going to suck."

"You're the one in charge," Sam replied as she violently contributed to the experiment, dashing larger amounts of the allotted substances than was necessary. "I don't see why you're even upset! You rule the Earth, the Ghost Zone and every piece of real estate in between."

"Is that supposed to make me happy?" Danny growled, his voice getting slightly louder. "Does the fact that I'm supreme overlord of everything mean that I have to be happy about it?"

"I guess not," Sam replied, her voice steadily increasing as well. "But then, nothing really makes you happy these days."

"And here it comes," Danny sighed loudly in exasperation as he poured water into a beaker.

"Oh, excuse me, am I wrong?" Sam asked, pretending to be apologetic. "I must be in topsy-turvey world then! I guess hours of _woe-is-me_ rants and _my-parents-would-hate-me_ speeches mean you're as happy as a lemming at the Grand Canyon."

Danny rolled his eyes. He saw that his test tube wasn't bubbling and lit a small ectoplasmic fire underneath it with his index finger. "I know you're scared about Walker. So am I, and so is Tucker and Jazz and I bet just about everyone else who knows about him. But don't try to tell me how to live my life. Don't get all up in my business about who I can and can't talk to. You're not my mother."

"Yeah? Well I doubt you'd listen to her. When's the last time you sat down and talked with your family?"

"About?"

"Anything! School, their work, music, ghosts, anything!"

"Ok, first off, _yesterday_. We had a very long conversation about temporal paradoxes and the possibility of the existence of ghosts with powers over the fabric of time. It was neat. Second, where do you get off telling me how to interact with my family? Have you looked at your family lately?"

Sam glared daggers at her best friend (for the moment) and poured the contents of her test tube into her beaker. Danny followed suit, unaware of the almost invisible green mist that was rising from his concoction.

"Where do you get off talking about my family like that?" Sam spat.

"The same place you get off talking about mine," Danny shot back. "Seriously, ever since this Walker stuff happened, you've been riding me non-stop about it. Its like the fact that I even _told_ you gave you OCD."

Sam looked like she was about to explode. Danny couldn't help but feel the same. And yet, for some odd reason, Sam looked . . . really attractive this way. The boy felt his temper fizzle out. He couldn't really blame the girl for her anger. If Walker was telling the truth, and Danny had no reason to believe the contrary, then it was more likely than not that Sam would be dead in the future. The same applied to Tucker.

Danny sighed as the two poured their compounds into a larger beaker. "I'm sorry, Sam," Danny's voice had dropped back down to a whisper. 

Sam's anger evaporated. "N-no, I'm sorry. You're right; it's really not my place to butt in."

"But it is," Danny corrected as the last of their beakers' contents were emptied into the larger container. "My actions _now_ affect the entire world _later_. You have every right to be worried and angry and all that stuff."

Sam smiled at her friend's foresight. He really was clueless, but at least he was smart. "Apology accepted," she took Danny's hand in hers behind the lab table and squeezed it. "And we'll figure this out, Danny, all of us. We'll make sure that Walker never happens."

Danny grinned and squeezed Sam's hand back. And that was when the ectoplasmically charged sugar mixed with the trace amounts of mercury in the beaker. The explosion was small, but the shockwave that it created was strong enough to knock over the two teenagers and ruffle papers all over the classroom.

"What in the name of – Daniel! Samantha! Are you two alright?"

Mr. Falluca hurried over to the blast site and saw the two lying on their backs with identical expressions of shock etched into their features. Their goggles had protected their eyes from the grey-green powder that now covered their faces. Danny and Sam looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. 

The short, stout scientist sighed and shook his head. "Go get cleaned up, you two."

"What about our project?" Danny asked. Even though the teacher was looking over the remains of the lab experiment gone wrong, he could hear the smile in the young man's voice. 

"I suppose I can give you a make up assignment," Robert mused as he rubbed his chin. "I want an essay from both of you explaining why it is important to focus on potentially dangerous chemicals during a classroom experiment instead of bickering like an old married couple about who-knows-what. One page, double spaced, typed, you know the drill."

Danny and Sam blushed as snickers and giggles floated around the room following the married couple remark. They headed out for their respective restrooms, leaving Mr. Falluca to wonder why the seemingly harmless mixture of sugar and salt would react in such a violent way.

Upon further inspection, the miniscule grains of sugar from Daniel's half of the project were green and, with the aid of a magnifying glass, the science teacher saw that each grain was giving off a strange, barely noticeable glow. That explained at least _half _the problem.

It would be a while before he discovered the traces of mercury. But not even the brilliant mind of Mr. Falluca would be able to discern where it had come from.

* * *

Phantom dodged a rocket aimed for his torso and fired a beam of ectoplasm at the Huntress' weapon. On impact, the metal surface of the weapon heated exponentially.

"Ow!" the Huntress flung the weapon from her hands, catching the mistake too late as Phantom swooped in, grabbed it and snapped it in half. 

"You'll have to do better than that!" Phantom taunted as he flew up alongside her Banshee Board. "Remember, I'm a seasoned veteran!"

Valerie growled and grabbed another weapon from one of the many compartments in her hover craft. This one was unusually shaped, but no less intimidating. She fired off three shots that slammed into the ghost boy's chest.

"Seriously now," Phantom said, looking down at the three Shuriken that jutted from his chest. "Don't you ever learn?"

"Don't you?" Valerie tapped a button on her wrist and red electricity surged from the three objects.

Phantom dropped like a fly and rolled along the street. Civilians scattered in his wake. Valerie brought her board down to ground level and grinned. Phantom was writhing in pain on the pavement as the voltage continued.

"I've been looking forward to this for a long time," she said coldly. "Prepare to die. _Again_."

"S-sounds like a J-James Bond m-m-movie," Phantom stammered as he rose to his feet. He could feel the electric pulses weaken as his own electroplasm worked to shield him from Valerie's new weapon before absorbing it. "But I stopped watching them after they ditched Sean Connery."

Phantom closed his eyes and concentrated. The three Shuriken were slowly pulled into his body and disappeared. "But I don't think even he could do this!" Phantom puffed his chest out and tightened his abdominal muscles. The spinning discs shot out of his stomach in rapid succession, leaving a single line as an exit wound, which sealed up quickly. The discs flew at Valerie too quickly for her to dodge. Luckily for her, Phantom wasn't very experienced at firing circular projectiles from his stomach.

The first disc tore into her Banshee Board, severing the magnetic seal system that kept Valerie rooted to the device. The second one was a clean miss, but the third one, covered in Phantom's glowing green blood like the first two, ripped across Valerie's upper arm. Her own crimson blood sprayed into the air behind her.

"AHHH!" she dropped to her knees in pain, clutching the wound with her good arm. "Damn it! DAMN IT!"

Phantom flew over to her and crossed his arms. "Ever since this started, I said I didn't want to fight. I said I didn't kill your mother. Neither of those two seems to get you to leave me alone, and this," he gestured to the girl's arm, which was now covered in blood, "will probably not help."

"You got that right, ghost," Valerie muttered through clenched teeth. "Next time we meet, you are dead!"

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Please. I consider myself to be rusty, and look what happened. Think about how you'd be doing if I was at the top of my game."

Valerie remained silent, trembling as she held on to her arm. Her board refused to move as her boots were no longer sealed to its clamps.

"Well this isn't helping you. Let me-"

"Stay back!" Valerie spat. She held a grenade in her hand with her thumb hovering dangerously close to the activation button. Once it was pressed, anyone within a five meter radius had two seconds to high-tail it to safety. "I'm warning you!"

"Well _I'm_ warning _you_," Phantom replied edgily. "You're losing a lot of blood and I can bet that you don't want to go to a hospital. They'll unmask you and then you can say bye-bye to revenge. Let me help you."

"You just . . . tried to . . . kill me," Valerie gasped between deep breaths. "I . . ."

Phantom caught the Huntress and slung her over his shoulder as she passed out. Her Banshee Board clattered to the street below among the group of civilians that had gathered below.

"Uh, you guys! Down there! Watch that thing, will you? Don't let anyone take it, understand?"

"You got it, Phantom!"

"You rock!

"You suck!

"Give us the Huntress!"

"Go! Take her to a hospital!"

"Dude, I swear to God, I'll shove your head into that mayonnaise jar if you don't – hey, look! It's Phantom!"

The ghost boy flew off ignoring the cries of his adoring fans and the jeers and threats of the Phantom haters and landed atop a large building. He set Valerie down and took off his glove. The pale skin of his body rarely saw the light of day, save for the Ember incident, and it was fascinating to see. But the fascination lasted for a split second as he wiped the blood away from the wound and placed his hand over it. The dim blue glow started to appear, sparkling brilliantly against the darkening sky, but it flickered out as quickly as it appeared.

_Come on, come on, work! Work!_

_**This is a power you cannot use on your own.**_

**We must help you! Only with our combined power can you hope to save her life!**

_Then what are you waiting for?_

The power of his others slowly began to increase his own strength and the dim blue glow popped back into existence. It steadily grew brighter as the healing energies flowed into Valerie's body. The wound sealed over and the traces of Phantom's blood in the girl's body were transformed into human blood cells before multiplying at an accelerated rate. All the blood lost was quickly replaced and the wound was sealed without even a scar left behind.

_**She will live. **_

**Yes. A victory for you, Danny.**

_You guys ok? You sound tired._

_**It is not easy to expend that much energy.**_

**We are tired.**

_I'm the one who healed her, I should be tired._

_**It is too complicated to explain to you right now.**_

**Especially in our weakened state.**

_**Fear not, Daniel, for we will be back in full swing tomorrow.**_

**Yes. Your mind will, once again, will be our battlefield. But not now. **

_**Now, we rest.**_

And with that, for the first time since the voices made their presences known, they were gone. Under any other circumstances, Phantom would be elated. But now, he felt alone in his own body.

"Ugh," Valerie sat up. "Wh-what happened?"

"I saved your life," the ghost boy said coolly. "You're welcome."

"I didn't say thank you," Valerie spat as she stood up. "And you left all this blood on me."

Phantom sighed. "There's just no pleasing some people." He placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and turned her intangible. The still-drying blood fall through her body.

"Where's my Banshee Board?"

"Look at you, back in action already," he shook his head. "I left it down there with a bunch of civilians. The ones that love me listened to me when I told them not to let anyone take it. The ones that love you will probably do the same thing. They'll probably kill each other trying to protect it from nobody. Come on, I'll take you to it."

"Yeah right, like I'm going to-"

"Listen, Val, I just saved your life. You can at least give me the benefit of the doubt that I'm not going to make off with you or something stupid like that."

Valerie gaped at Phantom from behind her mask. Phantom could see her slightly opened jaw and wondered what he had said wrong. 

"What did you call me?"

_Oh. That._ "Val, Valerie, The Huntress, whatever! You're the same person no matter what I call you."

"Well don't call me that. The last thing I need is for the world to think that I'm on a pet name basis with my arch enemy."

Phantom grabbed Valerie and lifted her up bridal style. "We don't think we have to be arch enemies."

"I don't care what you think," she sneered, uncomfortably wrapping her arms around the ghost's neck as he flew her down to street level. "You're just a stupid ghost."

"A stupid ghost that knows a fall from this height will kill you. And this time, I won't use my super powers to fix you."

Valerie grunted, shifting her weight in Phantom's arms. They flew in silence for a while. Phantom hadn't realized how far up he had flown. "This is much nicer than the last time we were like this."

"Refresh my memory."

"Well," Phantom chuckled. "I distinctly remember a gun barrel being pushed into my temple and threats to splatter my brains across the city."

"Oh, that time," Valerie grinned. "I can't wait to tell my grandkids how I turned you into a green smear and a memory some day."

"Yes, little Phantom Junior will _love_ to hear his mom talk about how she killed me. He'll adore you for that."

Valerie glared at Phantom. "Do not even joke about that. You're disgusting."

"And you're very attractive," Phantom spoke louder over the noise of the crowd below. "But I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Valerie jumped from his arms and landed next to her Banshee Board. "You got that right."

She fired up the device and wobbled as the board rose into the sky. "You jerk! You broke the magnetic seals!"

"You keep live animals inside that thing? You're the jerk!"

Phantom heard a strange sound and looked down to see the crowd laughing at his joke. His supporters were particularly loud. His pale face tinged pink in embarrassment, but it quickly passed.

"Thank you! Thank you, you're all too kind!"

"Oh give it a rest," Valerie sighed as she fastened her boots down with manual locking devices and straps. "I'll be forced to put you down if you keep torturing them like that."

The crowd laughed again, Valerie's supporters were definitely more audible than Phantom's.

"Well I'm going home. Same time next week?" Phantom said with a yawn.

"It's a date," Valerie replied before flying off.

The crowd unanimously erupted into whoops and hollers of excitement at Valerie's remark. "Oh please, you've never seen an inter-dimensional relationship before?" Phantom said, turning to the crowd. "Guess not. You stay classy, Amity Park."

Phantom flew off, the cheers from the crowd rung in his ears all the way home, unaware that a malicious pair of red eyes was watching him all the way.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Well how about that. Is Valerie finally starting to warm up to our favorite ghost boy? And who's malicious red eyes were watching him? Hear that? That's the sound of Mentok the Mindtaker. It's a mystery . . . Things are going to pick up soon, I promise. When the action starts, it's going to keep on going until it stops, which is usually the case for actiony stories._

_Reviews! I didn't get many last chapter, but then, there really wasn't much to review on. Special thanks to_ GreyandNameless, Musicallity, Coppa-Cola, darkbunny92, darkness over day,_ and_ MissMeliss4251.

_And I guess I need to explain these bolded bits I stick at the end of the chapters. They're just that. They mean absolutely nothing. I just think of something and put it in, like lyrics from a song (e.g. last chapter) or a quote from a movie (see: bah-weep-grah-nah-weep-ninni-bong). It's that simple. Some of you, like the adorably confused_ Musicallity, _deserve an explanation. And there it is. So yeah._

**DRINK PURE LIFE. COLLECT LABELS. GO PLAY!**


	76. Augmentation 3

Chapter LXXXII

". . . and it is because of these reasons, along with many others that will be disclosed at a later date, that a one million dollar bounty has been anonymously placed on the head of Phantom, the ghost boy. We here at Channel Five Action News caution our fellow citizens of Amity Park against trying to claim this bounty. While the prize is quite handsome, the risks involved should only be taken by professionals. This is Lance Thunder reporting live from the Mayor's office. Back to you in the studio, Tiffany."

Danny Fenton, his sister and his parents stared at the television with their jaws dangling open in shock at the breaking news update.

"I can't believe it!" all four of them said in unison.

"That seems a bit odd," Maddie rested her chin in her arm. "I wonder why someone would put a bounty on his head."

"Isn't it obvious?" Jack said, his face lighting up. "They know _we're_ the ones who are going to catch him! Whoever it was practically handing us one of those giant cardboard checks with a million bucks made out to me, Jack Fenton! The man who brought down Phantom!"

"This is ridiculous!" Jazz shouted at the television. "Phantom has done nothing but good for this town and how do we repay him? By putting a bounty on his head?" Jazz stormed off to her room, hoping to find some sort of legal repercussions against such an action.

"I wonder who would be willing to give away one million dollars for capturing the ghost boy," Maddie pondered after worriedly watching her daughter hurry off.

"I think I have an idea," Danny mumbled to himself. 

* * *

Vanessa had just stepped out of the shower when she felt her spine tingle. The familiar sensation traveled up through her vertebrae and stopped just as it hit the cerebellum. Her ghost sense was alerting her to the presence of –

"Daniel, _please_ don't tell me you're watching me bathe," Vanessa retrieved a large, fluffy pink towel from the hook on her hotel suite and wrapped it around her dripping wet body. "It really is unbecoming of a boy your age."

Unexpectedly, the bathroom door was blasted off its hinges and a very angry Phantom hovered into the room. "Placing bounties on the head of a boy my age is really unbecoming of . . ." Phantom only now noticed that his arch nemesis was standing in front of him with nothing but a flimsy piece of cloth to shield her body from his wandering eyes.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Vanessa turned invisible and disappeared for several minutes. When she reappeared, she was fully clothed. "Now then, since you're not going to be distracted by your obvious attraction to me, why did you barge into my bathroom and knock down the door?"

"I'm repulsed by the very thought of you," Phantom countered. "I just didn't expect to see you like that."

"Well honestly, what _did_ you expect?"

Phantom shook his head. "That's not the point! Why did you put a bounty on my head, Plasmius? I have enough problems to deal with without you making my life harder. Now I won't be able to think the word _Phantom_ without some vagabond trying to cash in on me."

"Quite frankly, Daniel, I've run out of creatures to send to fight you. The ones I do have left . . . well, I'm saving them for a special occasion. I thought it was time to test you in a different way; against human opponents."

"Don't lie to me," Phantom said angrily. "There's something more than just an empty petting zoo going on here."

"Oh is there?" Vanessa snarled. "Is there really? Has your pathetic fourteen-year-old mind come up with some explanation that you think is right? Even if there was another reason behind my actions, it would hardly concern you."

"Uh, don't you think I would need to know why there are going to be thousands of wannabe Skulkers running all over the town with butterfly nets trying to catch me?"

"No, I really don't."

Phantom growled and charged his hands with ectoplasm.

"Ah-ah-ah! Wouldn't want to make even more of a mess in my suite, would you? Then maybe people will think you deserve to be hunted like an animal."

"Why make this a public thing?" Phantom asked, dropping his arms. "You're more than powerful enough to capture me without making a spectacle of it!"

"You'll understand some day," Vanessa sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "Now leave me be."

Phantom looked at the woman with rage burning in his eyes. "You better hope those bounty hunters know what they're getting themselves into. And when I'm done with them, I'm coming back for you."

"Ooh, that temper of yours is just titillating, Daniel, it truly is!" Vanessa grabbed Phantom's arm, feeding her own energy into it. Phantom bit back a yelp as the ectoplasm burned through his skin. "But cross me, and you'll regret the day you stepped into that Ghost Portal."

Vanessa released Phantom's arm and the ghost hovered back, rubbing the afflicted area as it healed over. 

Opting not to anger the woman further, Phantom flew away from the hotel, silently fuming over his defeat. It was a Sunday night, and school would have no sympathy for Daniel if he showed up without an adequate amount of sleep.

An explosion several meters away knocked Phantom off course and sent him tumbling to a rooftop. Upon looking up, he saw the Huntress flying at him. Her Banshee Board had been repaired and the young woman was reveling in the magnetic boots that allowed her to defy the laws of physics when applied to moving objects. Slung over her shoulder was her usual rifle, but the newest attachment made the gun look at least five times bigger. The expansive barrel was still smoking after having fired the missile.

"Valerie!" Phantom shouted as he floated back up off the building. "What -?"

"Word on the street is that someone wants you dead, spook," Valerie did not try to hide her happiness, or the smile on her face. "Who better to claim the prize money than me?"

"Remember what happened last time?" Phantom said seriously. "I don't want to hurt you again."

"Don't worry about that." Valerie's missile launching upgrade detached and folded into a much smaller cube before returning to a compartment in the Banshee Board. The Huntress grabbed a V shaped object from yet another compartment and clamped it on. Phantom's eyes widened as Valerie aimed her crossbow at him. "If anyone should be worrying about getting hurt its _you_!"

Phantom dodged the hailstorm of glowing red arrows that Valerie fired at him. Grenades and missiles and lasers erupted forth from the Banshee Board and dotted the sky with red fireworks. 

"Ohcrapohcrapohcrapoh – WHOA!" several Shuriken, not unlike those from his last encounter with the Huntress tore through the air above his head, shearing off several strands of glowing white hair. The spinning metal discs dug into the brick of a building that Phantom was flying towards. He was about to faze through the wall when the objects exploded, knocking the ghost boy off track. "GAH!" Phantom bounced off a street light and slammed into a nearby car, crushing the hood and effectively destroying the motor. "That's a new trick," he mumbled as he painfully sat up.

_**Then perhaps it is time we taught you a new one of your own.**_

**This Huntress female is very annoying.**

_Oh thank God, I never thought I'd be happy to see – er – hear you guys!_

_**We'll get to that later. For now, concentrate and allow us to work.**_

Phantom saw Valerie fast approaching on her hover craft. The subconscious influence of his others urged him to bring his arms together above his head. Ectoplasm formed in a small ball in the connected palms of his hands. With more subtle influence, Phantom swung his arms down in front of him.

"Go ghost stinger!"

The green ball of energy expanded rapidly, winding and slithering through the air. It made contact with the front of Valerie's machine. The line of energy became a rope of sorts in Phantom's hand. Ectoplasmic energy surged from the ghost boy's hands and traveled along the ghost stinger until it reached Valerie's board. The device sparked and shuddered in the air. Once again, the magnetic seals were disengaged and Valerie fell from her board as it plummeted down to the street.

_**Excellent work, Daniel.**_

**I think removing her spine would be more efficient.**

_**That is why you don't get to make executive decisions.**_

Phantom ignored the voices as Valerie fell from the sky. He was rooted to the spot where he hovered, unable to move. Valerie couldn't survive a fall from that height.

But she didn't fall all the way. A flash of black intercepted the girl's falling body high in the air; much higher than any normal human could jump. When the hulking black-clad biped landed on the ground several yards in front of him, Phantom could hardly believe his eyes.

"A ninja?"

The man looked from the shocked, awed, and slightly infatuated Valerie to the ghost boy. The white circles that covered his eyes bore into Phantom's own green optical receptors.

"I am Melee." The man corrected in his commanding baritone voice. He set Valerie down and grabbed an object that looked like the hilt of a sword from his belt. His forearms, the only part of the giant man's body that wasn't covered by the formfitting black material, flexed as he adjusted his grip on the object. "Prepare to die, ghost child."

"Don't be so brash, Melee," another masculine voice said.

Phantom looked to his right and saw a man skateboarding up to the trio. His outfit was formfitting, like the ninja's, but it was almost all white. The man's padded sleeves were black and stopped halfway down his forearms, like the ninja's sleeves. Black gloves covered his hands and black boots covered his legs to just under the knee, giving way to the white of his pants. The spandex outfit met at the waist where a black belt held a variety of gadgets. The newcomer kicked his board into the air, caught it during a flip and landed with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. He walked the rest of the distance over, placing the skateboard behind his back where it clamped to a magnetic seal.

"Sorry about the big guy. He's excited about this job."

"W-who are you guys?" Phantom looked from the skater to the ninja.

"I'm X-Treme. That's the letter **X**, then a dash, then the letters **T**-**R**-**E**-**M**-**E**. And my friend Melee," X-treme patted the ninja's enormous bicep, "already introduced himself."

Phantom gaped at the two, especially Melee. He was so big. He could look Wulf straight in the eye without even having to strain himself. Phantom wasn't aware that humans could grow so big. But the amazement was washed away as his others presented a more pressing issue to him.

"You're here for the bounty," he growled.

"Yup," X-treme replied as he ran a hand over his bald head. A scar originated at the top of his scalp, rand down his face, over his eye and continued down under the collar of his shirt. "But we all agreed to start hunting you tomorrow. We wanted to familiarize ourselves with the town first."

"_We all_?" Phantom repeated, growing more nervous.

"There's a bunch of bounty hunters comin' here. We met on the outskirts of town yesterday to lay down some ground rules."

Phantom's heart began to flutter, which was a clear sign of nervousness, as Phantom's heart did not beat at all while he was a ghost. "How many?"

"At least a dozen. Maybe more," X-treme pulled out a PDA and began typing something into it. "We won't know until we start havin' Bounty Hunter Brawls all over the city."

"Will you put that infernal device away?" Melee growled, causing Phantom and Valerie to jump. "What are you doing?"

"Bitches love text messagin'!" the man replied with a grin. He saw Valerie and the grin turned into an apologetic smile. "No offense little lady."

"Uh, none taken?" Valerie replied sheepishly.

"Good girl," X-treme replied as he pocketed the device.

"Do not treat her like an animal," Melee reprimanded his comrade. "She is clearly an adept huntress." The ninja turned to the young woman. "What is your name?"

"Um, the Huntress?"

"Ah, see? Even she knows of her own prowess!" Melee declared proudly as he placed a fatherly hand on Valerie's shoulder.

"Eh, I don't know about that. If you hadn't decided to play super hero, she would have made quite a mess on the pavement." X-treme crossed his arms and jerked his head towards Phantom. "You plannin' on cashin' in on this?"

"Yes sir," Valerie replied more confidently.

"Do _not_ address him as _sir_," Melee said, pointing an accusing finger at the slimmer man. "His head will explode if his ego is fed any more."

"Aw come on, man!" X-treme threw up his arms. "It's hard to have kids respect you when they're not allowed to call you 'sir'!"

"Don't respect him either," Melee added. "In fact, you would do well to never speak to him again."

X-treme rolled his eyes behind his black visor. "So what's your getup, kid? Green Goblin change your life or somethin'?"

"He killed my mother," Valerienodded at Phantom, who had remained silent. 

X-treme and Melee looked at Phantom with disdain.

"Oh dude," X-treme said disappointedly. "That's low. That's really low."

Melee took a menacing step toward the ghost boy. "Are you sure we can't capture him now?"

"Hey, hold on a second!" Phantom floated back, holding up his hands. "Don't I get to defend myself?"

Melee held his hilt behind him and rested his thumb on a button. X-treme held out an arm, casting a warning look back at his larger counterpart. "Does it really matter?" he asked Phantom. "We're not here because of that. We're here because some rich sombitch thinks you're a menace to society and cares enough about it to want you gone. We don't take this personally. It's our job."

Phantom sighed. At least these people had a legitimate reason to hate him. They were being _paid_ to.

"Tomorrow, ghost child," Melee pointed his hilt at the street light Phantom had bounced off of and pressed the button. A whip made of glowing orange energy sprung out and wrapped around the pole. With a violent tug, the pole snapped in half and fell to the street. The light bulb and its casing shattered, spilling glass onto the road. "You will die."

Phantom scowled at the trio before he turned and flew off, hurrying for home.

Melee and X-treme watched him go. Valerie was tinkering with her Banshee Board.

"Need some help?" the skateboarder asked. He knelt down next to the girl and glanced at the inner machinations of the hover craft. He whistled a low, long tune to express his admiration. "This is one fancy piece of metal you got here." A closer inspection revealed the problem. "Guess the ghost kid must have overloaded the onboard CPU with that stinger attack of his. Just reboot the system," he pressed several buttons and reattached several wires that had jarred loose, "and recalibrate the ecto-filtration system-"

"The what?" Valerie asked as she watched the man work on her Banshee Board.

"Ecto-filtration system," he repeated. "While you're fighting ghosts, this baby absorbs ambient ghost energy. It releases the byproducts of the conversion process, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, back into the air through the propulsion system. Whoever built this thing must really know their stuff."

Valerie grinned. Plasmius _was_ a ghost.

"Ok, you should be good to go here Miss Huntress," X-treme stood up and watched the Huntress board her hover-craft. "How old are you, nineteen? Twenty?"

Valerie looked from the massive ninja to the smaller skateboarder. "Uh-"

"Are you kidding me?" Melee slapped his partner in the back of the head. "She cannot be a day over fifteen years old; neither can the ghost child."

"How would you know?" X-treme snapped.

"I've seen children before," Melee replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "They're kind of common, you know, since our species couldn't survive without them?"

X-treme rolled his eyes. "You're fifteen then?"

Valerie nodded, slightly embarrassed.

"Well good for you, kid."

"Yes, I know there are men in their thirties who are not mentally capable of hunting as efficiently as you."

X-treme frowned and elbowed Melee in the abdomen. The act seemed to hurt X-treme more.

"Wait, you're thirty and you were hitting on me, thinking I was nineteen? That's still, like, ten years younger than you!" Valerie said, coming around her shy barrier. "Ew?"

Melee laughed at his friend's discomfort. Valerie sighed. "_Men_." She blasted away from the site and hurried on her way as well. 

"This should prove to be the most amusing million dollars we've ever earned," Melee declared after Valerie had gone.

"Yeah, it probably will," the smaller man replied. His pocket vibrated and he quickly retrieved his PDA. X-treme chuckled as he read the message. "Man, I'm tellin' you-"

"Yes, yes, if I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times; women love text messaging."

* * *

Lydia sat atop the Terror Tower Hotel. It was dangerous being this close to the same ghost woman who had nearly killed her the night before, but she couldn't help it. The tattoo ghost loved taking risks.

That was probably how she had gotten into her current situation. Her human partner was another risk taker, although the risks he took were theoretical and scribbled down on paper. It was her job to make them come to fruition.

But of all the harebrained schemes, this one had to be the outlandishly riskiest to date. She was out of her element; working in a predominantly human realm with _and_ against humans at the same time. She would never be able to fathom why, but Lydia found herself more attracted to humans than her own kind, especially when it came to her selection in men.

The tattoo ghost retrieved the vile of pale yellow liquid from a fold in her cloak. It looked so insignificant, something that was hardly worth her effort to retrieve. But Lydia had worked with Frederick Isaak Showenhower for years. Over that time, she had come to realize her one glaringly obvious fault; she simply could not grasp the bigger picture. Frederick was a kindly man, however, and saw value in his companion that overshadowed what he called "a minor flaw". 

Lydia smirked as she placed the vile back in her cloak. That value he saw was almost purely sexual. But then the grin faded from her face. At least it _was_. Several years ago, their relationship nearly ended when the man discovered something in the Ghost Zone; something that ended his search for other ghostly artifacts and sparked a new desire in his heart. She didn't know what the Reality Gauntlet was and, in honesty, neither did Frederick. But what he had discovered about it made his eyes burn with passion and desire. The new set of earrings he wore was "the first piece to a much more complicated puzzle". 

To Be Continued

_A/N: Ok, so there's the two OCs; _X-treme_ and _MeleeX-treme_ is based on the extreme ghost hunting couple that was in Million Dollar Ghost. _Melee_ is just some guy who is awesome. To me, anyway. Don't worry about them sucking up the spotlight after this segment is over. Characters that appear in only one episode have an uncanny way of showing themselves the exit in this universe. _

_So yeah, I noticed that the reviews are trickling in. Was it something I said? Perhaps FF is malfunctioning? Hmm  
_:O  
_Well in any case, thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ dpphan333, Bubski, MissMeliss4251, _and_ Musicallity.

**SHAKE IT UP!**


	77. Augmentation 4

Chapter LXXXIV

Danny's eyes snapped open when his alarm went off at 7:00 a.m. All he could think about was the inevitable battles that would come from this day. His parents, Melee and X-treme, and who knows what others were just waiting for Phantom to make his grand entrance.

Danny rolled out of his bed and got dressed in a hurry. He nearly flew down the stairs and stumbled into the kitchen. Jazz was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his parents were sitting at the table, tinkering with a new invention.

"Morning, son!" Jack said loudly. "Today's the big day, huh?"

Danny paled. "W-what do you mean?"

"Today's the day we bring down Phantom!" Jack sealed the back onto the object he was fiddling with a screwdriver. "Finished!" he set the device down and took a swig of his morning orange juice.

"Your father's been working on a new _Ghost Getter_ all night," Maddie explained as Danny eyed the device cautiously. "We found out the chemical compound ghost's use to become invisible. This device emits a sonic vibration that separates that compound into its individual elements, thus eliminating its invisibility powers for . . ." the woman trailed off as she went over the calculations in her head.

"Exactly two hours!" Jack proclaimed. "Until then, if the spook tries to disappear, the chemical signals will confuse themselves and charge the entire ghost with ectoplasmic energy, rendering it _incapacitated_."

"I guess there's no way I could convince you guys to _not_ go after Phantom?" 

"Sweetie, I know you think Phantom is a hero, but he _is_ a ghost," Danny's mother loaded up her ammo and grenades into a portable steel locker. "And we could really use this money."

"For what?" Danny asked concerned. "I thought we had plenty of money! This was never an issue before!"

"Relax, kiddo," Jack said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Everyone could use a million bucks! This money could go a long way in helping our research."

Danny sighed. "Look, if you guys do manage to catch Phantom," he forced down a reflexive grin, "and that's a big _if_, can you please promise me that you won't kill him?"

"Promise," Maddie replied quickly before Jack could make their son any more uncomfortable. "Now go on to school, sweetie."

Danny gave both his parents a hug before rushing off, nabbing his book bag on the way out.

"I don't see why he's so worried about the ghost kid," Jack said returning to his work. "He's just a ghost."

"Jack, we both know that Danny and Phantom are close. Maybe even friends."

"Why would Danny want ghost friends?" Jack set the Ghost Getter down and picked up a much more sinister looking device; one which was well acquainted with Danny and his face. "Sam and Tucker have been his best friends for as long as I can remember living here."

"He doesn't have many other friends," Maddie added sadly.

Jack finished bolting the set of razor sharp teeth into the Ghost Weasel's vacuum hose and set it aside next to the Ghost Getter. "Well after we get Phantom and the money, maybe we can," Jack paused, deep in thought. "Maybe we can find a way to spring him out? I mean, we could try to find some way around the terms of the ghost kid's capture."

"Jack, we can't do that!" Maddie exclaimed. "That's fraud!"

"Ok, ok," Jack said quickly. "We won't scam the guy." The large man sighed. "We'll think of something. But we should focus on catching him first!"

Maddie smiled. "Agreed."

* * *

Danny was extremely paranoid all day until his study hall. There had been no ghost attacks, no bounty hunter attacks, and, so far, no heart attacks. The latter was bound to change if Danny couldn't get his heart rate under control.

"Danny?" Valerie asked. "Are you alright?"

The boy jumped in his desk at the sound of the girl's voice, half-expecting a gun barrel to be pointed at his head. He saw that there wasn't one and calmed down as much as he could in his current state.

"I'm fine," he said shakily. "Just, uh, just a little tired. That's all." He began to tap on his desk, trying to mimic a tune he had heard on the radio, but in his cluttered mind the song wouldn't come to him.

"You don't look tired," Valerie commented, seeing her ex-boyfriend's jitteriness. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I am fine," Danny replied reassuringly. "Peachy."

"Is something wrong?"

Danny looked at the girl and frowned. She could never understand and, if presented the truth, would probably want nothing to do with him. Other than his demise.

"Nothing's wrong, Val," Danny said. His voice was still trembling. "I don't feel good, ok?"

"Well I can see that," she gestured to Danny's legs, which were bouncing around under his desk erratically. "Danny, you're kinda scaring me. Are you sure you're-?"

Danny stood up, cutting Valerie off and ambled over to the study hall teacher. "Can I have a pass to the bathroom, please?"

"Can you wait until Ethan gets back?" the woman replied.

"Not really. Kinda an emergency," Danny rapped on the woman's desk with his fingers and looked from side to side as if a ghost or a bounty hunter would burst through the wall at any given moment.

The teacher wrote out the pass and handed it to Danny, who snatched it away and made a beeline for the door. Once in the hallway and safely guarded from prying eyes, Danny turned intangible and floated up to the school's fourth floor. It was more of a storage room than an actual part of the building, but it had been used for educational purposes at some time. Danny didn't really care about its history, only that it was empty and seldom ever used.

"Oh God, come on, come on, calm down Fenton, just calm down! Everything is going to be ok. Just don't go ghost and you won't have to fight anyone. Just lay low for a while, that's it. They'll all clear out eventually and everything will be back to normal. I can do this. I can do this." 

Danny rubbed his forearms and paced back and forth. His body began shaking and he grabbed a podium lying amongst the discarded furniture and hurled it at the wall at the far side of the room. It shattered on impact.

"Damn it!" he shouted furiously. "I can't! I can't do this!" he slumped to the ground, shaking from his nervousness. "Why me? WHY?!"

"Why _what_, Daniel?" 

Danny's ghost sense activated and he spun around, which was much harder to do since he was sitting on the floor. He lost his balance and tumbled onto his stomach. His eyes closed as pain shot up from his chin and spread through his jaw. When they slowly opened, he was at the steel boots of Skulker.

"Why do I have to do this?" he asked sheepishly, pushing his shaking body up off the floor. "Why do I have to live in fear all the time?"

Skulker placed a steadying hand on Danny's shoulder and scanned him. "You did not eat breakfast today." A compartment opened on the robot's shoulder and a thermos popped out. The mercenary caught it with one hand and offered it to the ghost boy. "This is a protein smoothie. You must drink it if you are to function with any degree of normalcy today."

Danny slowly accepted the thermos, wary of its familiar cylindrical shape. This one, however, did not sport the word Fenton anywhere on its surface. Danny slowly drank the smoothie. It was some kind of fruit blend and was not as disgusting as Danny thought it would be. Still, it was no slice of pie either. He considered asking why a massive ghost robot would carry something as frivolous and random as a protien smothie in his battle suit, but decided against it and stored the question away for another time.

"Thanks," he said after he had finished. "I do feel a little better now."

"Good. Now what is this self pity business I interrupted?"

"Skulker, I can't go out there," Danny motioned to a window. "Not as Phantom. The town is crawling with bounty hunters! Every living thing wants to capture me or kill me and turn me in for a million bucks!"

"A wise man once told me _'There is no such thing as danger; only opportunities to be had'_."

"How does that help me?"

"Last night you allowed yourself to be intimidated by two men. _Two!_ Not ten or a hundred, _two!_ One with a skateboard and another with a fancy whip," Skulker looked out the window and saw that the streets beyond Casper High were dotted with ecto-signatures of anti-ghost weapons. 

"These are humans, Daniel. Weak, fragile and fearful humans. You have gone toe-to-toe with a ghost that rivals Plasmius herself in power and came out alive. Humans? Guns? _Bounty?_ These things are not worth becoming upset over. They pose no danger to you. Instead, look at the current situation as an opportunity to prove to the world and the Ghost Zone just how powerful you are. You can beat these primates and their weapons. Their desire is to turn you in for monetary purposes. Your desire is to survive."

Skulker turned back to Danny. "Show this town that you are in charge. Don't pull your punches, don't hold back. You've been a victim of these ungrateful worms for too long. You are a hero, and you deserve to be treated like one."

Danny no longer felt shaky or uneasy. But instead of gushing gratitude, the boy looked at Skulker suspiciously. "Is there some kind of personal stake in this for you?"

"Placing a bounty on your head means that Plasmius has endangered the wellbeing of Samantha and Tucker as well. I was at the meeting the bounty hunters organized and the 'ground rules' were that anything short of killing civilians without probably cause goes. I will not allow my employer's ambition to endanger the life of my niece."

Any nervousness, panic or fear that Danny felt slowly turned into anger. "She's not going to get away with this. Once I'm through with those bounty hunters, I'm going for her."

"I wish you good luck, then," Skulker said as he floated up through the ceiling. "And remember, they're only human."

Danny looked at the spot where Skulker had disappeared. True, the bounty hunters would consist of a mostly human population. But Danny was also 'only human'. The boy smirked. 

_And that's my advantage._

* * *

X-treme watched from his vantage point atop a skyscraper as his bounty hunting brethren scoured the city, searching for Phantom in every nook, cranny and, in the case of some of the more impolite of his kind, house they could find.

"These amateurs are causing more trouble than we need," Melee commented as one man was driven from a home by a short chubby woman wielding a rolling pin. He sported several red marks on his arms and head and one large gash that was bleeding profusely. He raised his ecto-gun, but passed out before he could pull the trigger. "This is just the kind of thing we want to avoid."

"Relax, wouldja?" X-treme replied. "Nobody's been hurt that bad yet."

Melee watched as the man stumbled into an alley and fell back against a dumpster, clutching his head. After several minutes, his arm slumped to the ground drenched in blood. The bounty hunter was dead.

"We have a casualty," Melee corrected. "One KIA, and it wasn't even Phantom who did him in."

X-treme looked at his partner down to where his binoculars were directed. His eyes widened behind his visor. "W-well serves him right for tryin' to break into some little old lady's home."

"This is ridiculous," Melee stated as he continued to observe the others. "No person, human or ghost, is worth a million dollars. This kind of reward money creates more problems than it is intended to solve."

"Then take it up with the poster," X-treme snapped.

"Oh, _great_ idea, I _never_ would have thought to do _that_," Melee shoved his partner with one arm while keeping his binoculars trained on another bounty hunter. "The poster is anonymous and nobody has any idea where to take the ghost child once he is captured."

X-treme balanced on the edge of the building where Melee's shove had sent him. He sat down, dangling his feet over the side. "Who cares? So long as we get the cash, I'm all for anonymimity."

"That isn't a word," Melee said as he focused in on another bounty hunter. "And who's to say we'll even get our reward?"

"You implyin' somethin', big guy?" 

"I'm not implying anything. I just don't approve of all this secrecy."

"On that, I agree with you."

Melee tensed when a green flash of light appeared off behind a building some distance away. "I have a visual."

"On who? That Lydia chick? She was totally checkin' me out at that meeting."

"She is a ghost with solid red eyes. How would you know if she even saw you?" X-treme opened his mouth to reply, but the massive ninja cut him off. "Never mind. Phantom is in quadrant four. Shall we move to intercept?"

X-treme grabbed his skateboard and positioned it over the edge of the massive skyscraper. His foot was the only thing keeping it still. "After you," the smaller man said courteously.

Melee bowed and leapt from the roof. His immensely powerful leg muscles propelled him through the air over twenty yards away to the next building. X-treme grinned and leaned forward. His skateboard's magnetized wheels clung to the side of the building and his boots clamped onto the skateboard and the super athlete began his ninety degree descent from fifty stories, rapidly gaining speed. 

X-treme saw the ground rushing at him, coming closer and closer. At the last possible second, the skateboard's magnetization disengaged and the man pressed a button on his shoulder. The skateboard's wheels glowed with bright white energy before sending a massive flame down underneath him. The hover board was traveling too fast to stop, but X-treme didn't want to stop. That wouldn't be very _extreme_. The board slid along the ground, the white propellant keeping it at its insanely fast speed while keeping it from slamming into the pavement. Once he had leveled out, X-treme pressed the button again and the wheels returned to normal. The board connected with the ground and the man crouched down, minimizing his air friction. The skateboard continued to travel at speeds well over a hundred miles per hour. The athlete wove in and out of traffic, dodging cars and trucks and busses full of school children with relative ease.

Once he rounded the final corner closest to Phantom's location, his skateboard caught on something – the sleeve of an unconscious man – and sent X-treme flying through the air, sans his skateboard. The man flipped, tucked into a somersault as he hit the ground and righted himself once he came to a stop.

"Melee, do you have a visual?" he spoke into his comm. device. 

"Affirmative. Phantom took out a bunch of these guys. Some of them are seriously hurt. I called in the paramedics."

"Good for them," X-treme said as he spotted Phantom, duking it out with another man. The bounty hunter swung, missed, and was punched square in the jaw. His body flew like a rag doll into a second story window and smashed right through. 

"Let's do this thing!" X-treme shouted as he grabbed his skateboard off the ground.

"Negative," Melee commanded. "Phantom is more dangerous than we thought. You hold back, I will engage."

"Uh, screw that noise, man! I'm not letting you take this one."

"When have I ever _not_ split the bounty with you?"

X-treme clenched his hands into fists, but remained silent.

"That's what I thought. Stay tight, X, this won't take long."

* * *

Phantom watched as his latest combatant smashed through a widow. He grinned as more bounty hunters took cover as glass rained down upon them.

**Daniel, I always knew you would see things my way**.

_**This is being done for survival purposes only. Do not condone this type of behavior, you fool!**_

_Both of you shut up! Where were you when I nearly shook myself to death this morning? You guys could have cleared that all up in no time, but you decided to sleep in. So until I'm done, I don't want to hear a thought from any of you. Got it?_

_**As you wish.**_

**Growl**

It felt good to finally have some degree of control over the voices. He wished they would be more helpful when he really needed it, but absolute dominance seemed like a distant dream.

Phantom flew into the group of bounty hunters that had taken shelter in an alley way and mercilessly beat them down. One man tried to stab him with a pocket knife. The blade passed harmlessly through his intangible torso and sunk into the stomach of one of his partners who cried out in shock and pain.

Phantom kneed the attacker in the abdomen and backhanded him with enough force to slam him into the side of one of the buildings. The other man who now sported a knife in his stomach as elbowed in the forehead. He slumped to the ground. Both were unconscious. The remaining three looked at the ghost in horror; two women and a man. All three trained their ecto-rifles at him, but their aim was shaky. 

"If you guys don't want to end up like those two," Phantom pointed at each KO'd bounty hunter with both his hands, "then I suggest that you leave. Now."

The three turned and scrambled over the chain link fence that led to the other side of the alley way. Phantom turned and floated back out into the street and frowned at the mess he had made. The whole city block was a mess. The pavement was cracked in several places. A fire hydrant had been destroyed by a grenade and water spouted into the air like a geyser. Any car that had been parked there was totaled, either destroyed by a bounty hunter or by Phantom during the fire fight. One of the buildings was ablaze with green fire. Debris consisting of drywall, glass and wood littered the area.

Phantom flew up to the water spout and curved his body. He flew over top the gushing fluid and struggled to resist the upward force on his body. The water was deviated into the burning building and the fire was quickly extinguished.

An explosion in the adjacent building caused another fire and Phantom, who had just regained tangibility after expunging the excess moisture from his body, sighed.

"You made quite a mess of things," the familiar voice of Melee said from behind him. Phantom turned in time to see the ninja slam into him and knock him to the ground. "I'd say the cost to fix all this would be about _one million dollars_."

"What are you, a city councilman?" Phantom punched the ninja in the chest. The large man was sent sprawling away. Phantom shook his arm rapidly, trying to dispel the pain. "Well if you are, I hope your resolve for this city is as solid as your abs."

"I take great pride in my physical strength," Melee replied, apparently unfazed by Phantom's punch. "So I will take that as a compliment."

Phantom flew at Melee, but remembered his energy whip too late as it sprung out of the black hilt and wrapped around his neck. Melee swung Phantom in a circle before hurling him into the only still-standing streetlight, shearing it in half. Phantom caught the pole before it fell and threw it at the ninja like an oversized javelin. Melee leapt in the air and sprinted on the streetlight as it sailed underneath him. He leapt off it and flipped in the air, aiming his foot at Phantom's chest.

"Oh come on," Phantom taunted as he grabbed Melee's foot. "Let's try _regular_ unorthodox fighting tactics, none of this anime bull crap." Phantom swung the ninja at the ground toward a pile of glass.

Melee assessed the threat and retracted his whip. When he pressed the button again, a long pole extended from the end and stabbed into the concrete sidewalk. The pole bent as Melee used its flexibility to fling himself back at Phantom.

"Wow, that's _almost_ impressive," the ghost boy said as he dodged a punch from the ninja. "What else can that thing do?"

Melee chose to reply by retracting the pole and extending a large axe. Phantom flew in and fired a ghost ray, but the ninja deftly maneuvered around the attack and swung his axe. The sound of energy sizzling through flesh greeted both combatants' ears, as did the inhuman wail of Phantom. The ghost boy tumbled to the ground and rolled to a stop several feet away. He opened his eyes and saw that his arm was lying at an odd angle in front of him. 

_So an axe made of energy can only break my arm? No big deal._

Upon closer inspection, Phantom realized that his arm wasn't broken. It had been_ cut off_.

"Oh. My. God."

"I am willing to spare your life," Melee announced as he slowly and deliberately walked towards his prey. "There was no specification as to how you were to be presented. That is, of course, only if you surrender."

Phantom saw that his severed arm and the stub of his forearm were not cauterized. Both wounds were still bleeding, which gave Phantom a crazy idea; crazy enough to stave off the shock that was slowly working its way into him. Rising to his feet, the ghost boy picked his arm up and pressed it to the wound. His fears of misaligning the bone were quelled when the arm aligned itself, sealing the wound. Phantom charged an energy blast in his reattached limb and fired it at a stunned Melee.

"What in the-" the ninja was blasted off his feet as the green ball of energy slammed into his chest. His body flew through the air and was carried even further as he came into contact with the spouting water from the broken hydrant. Now wet, Melee bounced along the ground stopping only a few feet away from a downed power line. 

"I don't want to kill you, _Naruto_," Phantom taunted. "But you're not giving me many options."

Melee stood to his feet and looked down at the sparking transformer. "Then allow me to make your task easier." The ninja lifted his leg before slamming it down through the transformer.

Phantom rushed at the ninja, hoping to save his life. When he got close enough to whisk him to safety, the ninja wrapped his hands around the ghost boy's neck.

"If I shall die, then you shall accompany me to oblivion!"

Phantom was not afflicted by the voltage coursing through him. It was, however, affecting his intangibility powers and thus preventing him from escaping Melee's iron grip. 

"Game over, ghost child," Melee said in a steady voice, despite being electrocuted by a steady power source. 

Phantom then realized that the massive ninja was not being harmed by the barrage of synthetic lightning. Something was saving him from excruciating pain and allowing him to inflict such punishment on Phantom.

The ghost boy managed to kick Melee's weapon from his belt and the electricity now surged through his body as well.

"**_YEEEEEEAAAAARRRRRGH!_**" 

Phantom ignored the man's cry of pain and head butted him in the face. The ninja was dislodged from the transformer and, again, was sent flying through the air. Phantom grabbed his device from the ground and flew at him, swinging the object forward and pressing the button. To his excitement, the bright orange energy whip extended forward and wrapped around Melee's leg. Phantom yanked back and punched him in the head on the return trip.

Phantom retracted the whip and pressed the button again. This time, a large circle appeared in front of him giving the appearance of an umbrella. Phantom figured out the form's purpose instantly as he maneuvered the circle in front of him to deflect a skull shattering punch. This one was a shield.

"Return my weapon to me at once!"

"Yeah right!" Phantom used the shield to deflect several more attacks before retracting the energy weapon and pressing the button again. This one was a mace. "Ooh, neat-o!"

Melee roared and charged again. Phantom felt his lungs collapse as Melee's fist connected with his chest. Another punch nearly snapped his head off his shoulders. Melee grabbed his weapon out of Phantom's loosening grip and swung the mace into Phantom's back.

"I offered you life," Melee violently yanked the spiked club from Phantom's back, spinning him around. The ghost boy fell to the ground, his eyes wide open. "You chose the alternative."

Melee raised the mace above his head and slammed it down as hard as he could. Phantom's hands shot up and caught the club just inches above his head. The two struggled with the weapon, but Phantom was steadily losing the fight.

"Accept the end of your second life, restless soul," Melee said as soothingly as he could. "And embrace eternal peace."

"There's n-no eternal peace w-where I'M going to send YOU!" 

Phantom turned intangible and allowed the mace to slam through his head and shatter the pavement below. He rolled over, regaining solidity, and launched his fist charged with ectoplasm into Melee's chest. The ninja staggered back and looked down at his body. Phantom's punch had vaporized the fabric and left a blistered mark right over his heart.

"It would appear," Melee looked back at Phantom, "that we are evenly matched."

"It would _appear_," Phantom growled. He focused all his energy into his head and closed his eyes. "But then again, appearances are deceiving. Skulker was right. I shouldn't pull my punches."

Phantom thrust his head forward and opened his eyes. Two green beams of energy erupted from his pupils and charged through the air before stabbing into the exposed portion of the ninja's skin. The twin lances sizzled through skin, muscle, tissue and stopped just short of his trachea. Melee clutched at his chest as he toppled backwards. Phantom floated over just as his head smacked into the street. He grabbed the ninja under his arms and carried him away from the battle zone. Ambulances had arrived on the scene and were assessing the severity of the wounds the other bounty hunters has sustained.

"Here's another one," Phantom said as he set the hulking human down so he would lean up against one of the ambulances. "Is he going to make it?"

The EMT he had addressed, a woman in her mid twenties froze at the sight of Phantom. Her mouth tried to form words, but only strangled squeaks and other odd noises escaped her lips.

An older man approached and checked the vitals of his newest patient. "He'll make it," the man said. "Shelly, help the others get this one into the back." The woman nodded and scurried away. "Can't say I'm looking forward to helping them."

Phantom was taken aback by the technician's statement. "What are you talking about?" he hovered to the ground, now having to look up at the man. "Aren't you supposed to want to save them?"

"Take a look around, kid," the man gestured to the destroyed city block. "How much more of this are we going to have to take?"

Phantom hung his head. "I'm really sorry-"

"What? No, it's not your fault! It's these stupid bounty hunters!" The man sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Every time I've had to come in and see to someone after a ghost fight, I've never seen this much carnage in one concentrated area. The only thing worse than bounty hunters are the people who put the bounties out in the first place."

"You can say that again," Phantom mumbled. 

The Fenton RV chose that moment to screech onto the scene. Jack Fenton was ejected through the vehicle's sun roof and landed with uncanny catlike grace on the ground near the destruction.

"Phantom!" he bellowed. "I have you now!"

"Like hell you do!" the EMT moved in front of the ghost boy and glared daggers at Phantom's father. 

"I'm only going to ask this once," Jack said slowly and angrily. "Move."

"That didn't sound like a question that sounded like a threat" the EMT said in an equally aggressive tone. "And I will not move."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Will not?"

"Will not," the EMT confirmed.

"Like 'yes-I-will' will, only with a 'not' at the end of it?"

"Yes . . . wait n- no, yes. Yes."

"So what you're saying is that you will move, only that you are not able to do so?"

"No? Wait, er, no. Yes. I think."

Jack grinned. "Then allow me to assist you." He hoisted the man over his shoulder, turned and set him down behind him. "Now _Phantom_," Jack continued. But when he turned around to face the ghost child, he was gone.

* * *

Danny Fenton let out a long, exasperated sigh as he flopped down on his bed. So much done in one day, and it was only Monday! Was the rest of the week going to be like this?

He turned the black hilt around in his hands. Melee's universal melee weapon was officially his new favorite toy. Not that Danny needed a handheld weapon as Phantom, but it was still freakin' sweet to mess around with. He slid the weapon under his bed and lie back, looking up at his ceiling.

**This was quite an eventful day.**

**You did well combating that brute of a human. I couldn't have done better myself.**

_Aw shucks, yous just sayin' that on account'a yer trapped in my body!_

_**For crying out loud . . .**_

**Yeah, I guess I am. If I had my own body, the ninja would have been dead well before he sliced off your arm.  
**

_Speaking of which, how's it doing? I know I healed it up, but you guys are better at giving me internal status reports._

_**Your arm is functioning as well as it did the day you were born.**_

**That would be a bad thing. As an infant, his motor skills would not be sufficiently-**

_**It was an EXPRESSION, you imbecile! His arm is working fine!**_

**Perhaps you should choose your verbiage better.**

_**Perhaps I should MURDER YOU!  
**_

**PERHAPS I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!**

_Guys?_

_**I apologize, Daniel. The violent one provoked me.**_

**Yes, the smart one is quite irksome.**

_. . . It's good to have you back._

To Be Continued

_A/N: What a doozy! So much violence . . . and I still have X more chapters to go! Don't worry, there's still plenty left to get in this segment, so the Rule of Nine will be enforced again._

_REVIEWS! Are still trickling in. Oh well. You guys who just read and don't contribute don't get specially thanked in the special thanks section of the author's note. Special thanks goes to_ MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, Goldamon X, Musicallity, Katreal, _and_ The Golden Hat.

**KEEP RUNNIN HOMIE**


	78. Augmentation 5

Chapter LXXXVI

Melee slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his mask, shirt and gloves had been removed. The only reason his pants and boots were still on his body was most likely due to his immense size and the medical staff's inability to find a hospital gown large enough for him to wear. That hardly mattered. He had lost to the ghost by. A child had beaten him.

"Hey there big guy," said a familiar voice.

Melee turned his head sideways and saw his partner enter through the open window. X-treme flopped down into a chair and looked at the line of stitches that sealed the wound just below the giant's neck.

"What are you doing here?" he asked; his voice just above a whisper. "I thought for sure you would leave."

"Are you kiddin'? There are two reasons why I can't leave you alone. First, you'd take up all the good bounties out there. Second, when shit like this happens, you're always ramblin' on about seppuku or whatever you call your fancy ninja suicide."

Melee stared back up at the sterile white ceiling. "I failed," he said after. "I wish the ghost child _had_ pierced my windpipe. At least I would have died honorably."

X-treme sighed. His black visor dangled from his belt and anyone who was not familiar with the man's eyes would have been shocked. He didn't have any. "All this self-pity crap is startin' to get old. You always talk about how you aren't worthy to keep livin' and stuff, but I got news for you pal; you've never pulled the trigger. Not one day out of the ten years I've palled around with you have you ever gone through with your stupid seppuku schemes."

"This time may be different."

"How's that?"

"He has my weapon."

X-treme's jaw dropped open. "He took it? Why?!"

"I do not know, but I am only half the warrior I was without it."

X-treme stood from the chair and slid his visor back on. The neural interface activated the optical reception device that was hardwired into the long, thin lens. The man looked around the room again as he did when he first climbed in the window. This was no place for his comrade.

"You know how you're always lookin' out for my safety?"

"The one time you chose to ignore me cost you your natural sight."

"Well maybe its time we stopped doin' that. We're supposed to be a team, y'know. I'm not just the computer geek that's small enough to squeeze through vents to unlock doors from the inside when we're breakin' in somewhere."

"What difference does it make now?"

"You're gonna be outta here in no time. A big guy like you? Pshht! You're ready to leave now. And when you're back in action, we're going to take down Phantom. Not just you and definitely not just me. Both of us."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"All we need is a plan."

* * *

Lydia flew invisibly through the streets. The number of bounty hunters had dropped exponentially since the day before. Those absent from the hunt were either hospitalized or had been scared off. After Melee had been taken down the other man, whose name Lydia could not remember, had disappeared as well.

_Too bad_, she thought. _He was cute_.

But now her travels had brought her to the heart of downtown, looking for the ghost boy. Frederick had not previously been interested in the bounty that had been posted in Amity Park, but once he learned who the bounty had been placed on he almost came to the city himself to try and claim the reward.

Of course his brilliant and cautious mind took over his enthusiasm and instead, he sent Lydia in his place. She was taking a risk by hunting for Phantom while carrying the vial her lover wanted so desperately. But Lydia enjoyed the challenge.

The sound of jet engines shook the ghost from her thoughts. She turned and gasped as a steel sled shot straight at her body. Not thinking quickly enough to simply turn intangible, Lydia flew up allowing the young woman and her flying machine to pass harmlessly underneath her. A human girl, no older than fifteen, riding around the town on a flying sled? Interesting.

Lydia trailed the girl for some time, following her as she darted all over the town. The tattoo ghost guessed that she, like all the others, was hunting for Phantom. The Huntress slowed down as she reached the edge of the inner city. Casper High was visible in the distance and the girl mumbled something about the pointlessness of education before making off for the school.

Wearing a smug grin on her invisible face, Lydia followed.

Jazz gaped at her brother in shock. "_HE CUT YOUR __**ARM**__ OFF_?!"

"Jazz!" Danny hissed. "Shut up!"

"I-I'm sorry, but your _arm_?! He really _cut off_ your _arm_?"

"For the last time, yes! He sliced it off with this!" Danny pulled the black rod from his book bag and held it out. "It's some kind of energy weapon that can turn into a whole bunch of different things, like," Danny tapped the button and the same glowing orange axe that was responsible for taking his arm yesterday sprung from the open end of the hilt with a _snap-hiss_, "this thing. Or," he pressed the button to recall the weapon and tapped it again, watching with a grin as the whip snaked out, "this one. There's a bunch more, but I don't think it's a good idea to activate them all in here."

Danny slid the object back into his book bag and looked at his sister. "I kept it as a trophy. That, and its freakin unbelievable."

Jazz rolled her eyes. "You know if this Melee person ever gets out of the hospital, he_ is_ gonna want that back."

"Yeah, whatever. He's not getting this thing until . . . I get bored with it."

"And if your previous relationships are any indication, that'll be soon."

Danny scowled at his sister. "_They_ broke up with _me_," he defended. "It wasn't my fault."

"I never said it was. So what were these voices you were telling me about earlier?"

_**You ignoramus! You have exposed us!**_

**She knows too much. TEAR OUT HER HEART!**

_**No, you imbecile! She is his sister! He cannot kill her!**_

**She will tell the world of our existence out of fear! We will be dissected!**

_**She is Daniel's only intelligent human confident that cares about his wellbeing.**_

**What of Tucker?**

_**What of him?**_

**Daniel should have told him instead!**

I already did, remember?

**Ah, yes I do. Why has he not brought it up?**

_Because he forgot_, Danny replied mentally.

_**That is what I meant by the 'cares for his wellbeing' part.**_

**Very well.**

"Danny? Danny!"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Jazz, they were arguing about something."

"Who was? The voices?"

"Yeah. They tend to get pretty loud."

"So these aren't telling you to burn things or kill people?"

Danny chuckled. "The one does all the time, but he's kind of an idiot-" **HEY!** "There's a smarter one that keeps him in line with logistical stuff. They balance each other out, but they can be really, REALLY annoying."

"A smarter one, hmm? What's he like?"

"Uh, _smart_? What do you want from me, a sonnet?"

"Smart _how_, exactly?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Intelligent? He's book smart, but he has a lot of common sense too."

Jazz furrowed her brow. "Danny, these voices; they don't help you cheat on homework and tests, do they?"

"The smarter one does-"

"Danny!"

"But it's not like that!" Danny exclaimed. "He explained it to me once! They can't learn anything I haven't had the chance to learn. So when I'm, uh, not paying attention in class, they still hear everything that's being taught. Since they're in my head, they use my brain to analyze and comprehend the information. So basically, I am learning, they're just storing the knowledge."

Danny beamed at his sister, hoping not to be lectured.

"Mhmm," she mumbled at long last. "And the other one? What's he like?"

"The violent one? Well, he's _violent_. He really doesn't have a lot of foresight and tries to get me to do whatever is best to deal with a problem as quickly and brutally as possible. But he is smart when it comes to fighting stuff, especially if he knows that I could be seriously hurt or killed."

"I take it he's the one who starts most of the shouting matches in your brain?"

**Why you ignorant little-** "Not intentionally. He does say some pretty . . . straightforward and inappropriate things from time to time."

"Like?"

"Oh, you know, uh, '**KILL THEM NOW!**' or '**DEVOUR THEIR SOUL**' and stuff like that."

Jazz stared uncomfortably at her brother. "Can you eat souls?"

"What? _No_! What kind of question is that?"

"Well he's telling you to do it; maybe it's a ghost power you haven't discovered yet."

_Is that true?_ Danny thought angrily. _Can I really eat souls?_

**I wouldn't tell you to do it if you couldn't.**

**_Stifle yourself, you boar! Daniel, it is not as simple as that, but in the most primitively barbaric terms available to sentient life forms; yes, you can eat souls._**

_I take it there's still a long ways to go before I learn that one, huh?_

**_Yes. And please enjoy the time you have without it. I do not look forward to the day you begin to use that power._**

"Danny! Stay with me, little brother, you're zoning out again!"

"Sorry, Jazz," Danny apologized. "Turns out you were right. Someday I will be able to _eat souls_, although the smart one says it's not that simple.

"Well that's . . . _disturbing_," Jazz noted. "If your voices tell you anymore disgusting powers, _please _hesitate to tell me about them."

"Yeah, I think I will."

Danny's ghost sense wafted from his nostrils and the boy looked at the green mist with disdain. "Uh, Jazz? I gotta go."

Jazz looked at the mist that had streamed from her brother's nose with interest. "Alright, be careful little brother."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Danny mumbled.

He stood from the couch and willed the silver-green rings to form at his waist. The molecules of raw ectoplasm surged from their dormant state beneath the genetic structure of Danny Fenton. As the rings passed over his body, his clothing disappeared in favor of the black and white jumpsuit. His black hair and deep blue eyes traded in their colors for snowy white and neon green respectively. Jazz stared in awe at Phantom; the ghost her brother had become.

"Oh, almost forgot!" she said, snapping out of her stupor.

Phantom floated over to her desk as the young woman retrieved a familiar device from her own book bag.

"Its mom and dad's Ghost Getter," she explained. "I figured it would get a better field test in your hands."

Phantom smiled and accepted the detection device from his sister, careful to point the satellite-looking attachment away from his body.

"I better be going, then," he said before flying off through the wall.

Jazz sat back in her chair with a grin. Her brother was Phantom! How cool was that?

* * *

Lydia had been searching the school for a while, trying to figure out which African American girl was the same one as the Huntress when her invisible body nearly collided with the clearly visible form of Phantom. She had never been this close to him. Come to think of it, she had never heard from many ghosts that had been very close to him physically. Most of those ones were dead. And Phantom's ghost allies were not ones to associate with other lesser ghosts.

This close up, Lydia grinned as she studied his physical features. Probably about the same age as the Huntress, but slightly more muscled.

He's really cute too, she thought as she compared him to X-treme. I wonder if he's single . . .

She never had time to delve deeper into her lustful daydream, as Phantom accidentally brushed up against her. Spinning around rapidly, he activated a strange device in his hands that emitted a sonic wave. Lydia felt her body shimmer as her invisibility power was knocked out of commission.

Phantom saw the ghost flicker into existence in front of him and yelped in surprise. This was not what he had expected at all. A green skinned woman with outrageously spiked hair, a pierced septum, and solid red eyes stared back at him. Phantom thought she was some kind of rock ghost after seeing all the lines on her body, but quickly realized that they were tattoos. And since she wore nothing but a black laced corset and a black thong with black boots to match underneath her cloak, there were plenty of tattoos to be seen.

"What in the hell?"

Lydia did not respond. Instead, her hand snapped out and a pair of bats sprung from her wrist. They latched onto Phantom's neck, trying to bite through his skin. Unfortunately for them, their jaws were not nearly strong enough. Phantom grabbed each of them in one hand and charged up an ecto-blast, which vaporized the offending body, and sent it at the ghost.

She dodged it with grace and agilely moved in closer, sending more distracting tattoo animals before getting close enough to Phantom to knee him in the groin.

Phantom sailed back, eyes wide and teeth clenched in pain.

_I didn't think that would hurt me as a ghost!_

_**Of course you didn't. No one ever does.**_

Phantom grabbed the ghost's leg as she aimed a kick at his head and turned her intangible. With a grunt, he tossed her body through a wall and outside the school.

_Geeze, that hurt!_

**Stop whining and finish her!**

_Gimmie a second, you jerk!_

_**Yes, he is recovering from a severe physical blow.**_

**If it was a blow, then Daniel would not be in pain.**

_Is that supposed to be sexual?_

**Yes, but judging by the lack of animosity, it wasn't a very good joke.**

Phantom growled in frustration and followed the ghost outside. She was lying on the ground, twitching slightly. Not far from her hand was a vial of some yellow substance.

"What is that?" Phantom said more to himself than to anyone in particular

Lydia's head rose slowly as she heard Phantom's rhetorical question. When she had tried to go invisible, it felt like a surge of electricity had washed over her body. It was so painful she had almost blacked out. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the vial of Johnny 13's augmentation formula lying several feet away from her outstretched arms.

Phantom saw she had noticed it and figured it must belong to her. If that was the case, it was probably not good. The ghost boy flew at it, but a large tattoo snake rammed into him after unwinding itself from the ghost woman's leg. Phantom wrestled with it as Lydia grabbed the vial and slipped it back into the pocket in her cloak.

She turned in time to see Phantom rip the snake in half by tearing its mouth open. He looked from the remains of the serpent to Lydia and scowled.

The tattooed ghost assumed a defensive posture as the ghost boy lunged at her. Before he could land a punch, Lydia's cloak swirled around her body. All her tattoos sprang to life and circled her body in a similar fashion. Phantom was sucked into the tornado of ghostly energy and cried out as he was swung around in circles. The exertion was becoming too much for him and the corners of his vision were darkening.

Without warning, two hands gently slid along his cheeks and Phantom felt the ghost's lips brush against his before he was violently hurled from the swirling vortex and into a tree. The tornado subsided, and the ghost woman was nowhere to be seen.

_Yuck,_ Phantom thought as he furiously wiped his lips. _That's the second ghost that tried to make out with me! What the hell is going on?_

_**I hardly think she wanted to show you her affection. And, if I recall from your memories, you were particularly fond of Spectra.**_

**Forget that wench for just a moment, will you? A devious ghost like that tattooed one is bound to be back. You must be ready for when she returns!**

_You say that about every ghost I don't kill the first time._

_**Are we wrong?**_

_No, I guess not._

**Then you would do well to prepare!**

_But why did she kiss me?_

_**Oh for heaven's sake! Is it against the rules to make an unexpected move during a battle?**_

**Daniel may be onto something, other than inflating his ego. Allow us to investigate this** **further.**

_**Hmm. I suppose an internal analysis wouldn't do any harm. **_

Phantom felt his others withdraw slightly. It was not a complete absence like he had experienced after he had healed Valerie, but it still made Phantom uneasy. Like it or not, the voices were starting to grow on him.

"Omigosh! Phantom!"

The ghost boy spun around and saw Paulina Sanchez running towards him.

"Oh man," his sighed.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps the momentary absence of the voices was a good thing.

* * *

The GIW main Base of Operations, also known as its "BOO" was built underneath Amity Park's penitentiary. After the initial sublevel had nearly collapsed several years after it was finished, a team of surveyors, geologists and some of the older residents of the area were called in to try and find the source of the problem. An elderly man proved more useful than the entire professional (and highly paid) team the GIW had brought in. He told them about the gold mine that his grandfather had once dug in. It was abandoned after running dry, and the penitentiary built over the entrance.

Rather than relocate, the GIW carved out the tunnels and constructed one of the largest underground structures in human history, possibly the largest. Once the GIW realized that they really had no use for over three fourths of what they had constructed, they considered sealing off the lower levels for later use. That order was scrapped in favor of the suspended animation and cryogenic stasis chambers that housed hundreds of hostile ghosts and possibly thousands of creatures and oddities that the "Genie Incident" had left behind.

In addition to the expansive, almost ridiculously so, research space, there was ample room for monitoring and surveillance equipment. Sixty four of the cameras linked to the GIW's MASS, or Monitor and Surveillance System, were located in a concentrated area within a mile radius around Casper High. Most of the others were located near FentonWorks and the remainder was placed in key locations throughout the larger city.

It was Operative O, formerly known as Agent 02, who was watching the feed coming from one of the cameras situated behind the school.

"K, come look at this," Mike said from his seat at the city-wide monitoring station

Operative K, formerly known as Agent 089, made his way from the box of donuts he had been scouring through, wearing a triumphant grin on his face as if to celebrate his ascertainment of the plain cake pastry he had retrieved; his favorite kind.

"Wussup?" he asked with a mouthful of the donut already in his mouth. "'Oo fine schum'n?"

"Yeah I found something. Check this out," Mike played back the footage of Phantom's battle against the strange tattoo ghost on a different monitor. "And now look at this."

Jackson's eyes watched the battle with mild interest before darting to the next screen. A grin appeared on his face as he saw their protégé wrapped into a bone crushing hug by a Latina girl around his own age.

"That's just downright adorable," Jackson commented. "He's growing up so fast."

"He'll be fighting alongside the Box Ghost in no time at all."

"What about the Box Ghost?" asked the aforementioned ghoul.

Both Operatives turned around as the Box Ghost exited a box portal he had created between the Ghost Zone and the human realm. It sealed behind him once he was safely through.

"Just talking about your soon-to-be apprentice," Mike jerked a thumb at the screen, now showing Phantom in a futile attempt to excuse himself from Paulina's hug. With each plea, her squeeze only tightened. Mike couldn't help but grin as he noticed a similar facial expression on the ghost boy as he was pulled closer and closer to the girl.

"Ah yes, Danny Phantom," the Box Ghost removed his hat and slicked back his hair. "You guys should probably know that he's on the Observants' hit list."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "What for? Crimes against being a ghost and a human at the same time?"

"Nah, that one got shot down by the Council last weekend," the ghost made a gun shape with his fingers and pretended to fire off a round. "They're worried about his future, or something like that."

"Whatever it is, it's probably their fault," Mike stated as he saw Phantom finally relent and pick up the Hispanic girl and carry her through the sky, no doubt trying to get her home quickly to avoid the attention of more bounty hunters.

The Box Ghost laughed. "That's what I told 'em. Didn't take too kindly to it, and here I am."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "They chased you away?"

"I humored them," the Box Ghost said wryly. "Buncha eyeballs with hands don't scare me."

"Well they scare me," Mike chimed in.

It was only recently that the GIW was made aware by SPOOK 006 of the Observant High Council; a race of ghosts with the ability to determine the future. After the initial shock had faded away, the Guys in White did some investigation, going so far as to appoint Operatives K and O as Temporal Ambassadors, along with the Box Ghost. The relationship was a rocky one, but the two sides consented that the other could be a necessity in maintaining order throughout time.

The Box Ghost and the Observants agreed on one thing, and had just left out one itsy-bitsy detail about their work. Namely, Clockwork. The human race didn't need to know about a ghost that could control and manipulate time. Not yet, anyway.

"You guys should try to keep a handle on this bounty hunter situation," the Box Ghost said as he saw Phantom on one of the screens. The ghost boy soundly defeated two bounty hunters armed with guns while carrying Paulina on his back. "Have you seen the crime statistics once those idiots came to town?"

"Drug dealing, assault, rape, murder and even organized crime have inched up just a bit," Jackson confirmed. "It happens."

"Oh really? It just happens?" the ghost was becoming irritated, as he often did with humans and their shortsightedness. "Ever stop to consider if one of Daniel's friends or family members were caught in the line of fire?"

Both Operatives looked at each other, but did not respond.

"The Observants are unsure as to why the future happens the way it does, but one of the major power players in determining that future is Danny Phantom. If I was your superior, I'd be keeping much better tabs on him."

"What would you recommend?"

Jackson, Mike and the Box Ghost turned around to see Agent X, head of the Guys In White. He stood at parade rest, hands clasped behind him resting in the small of his back with his feet roughly shoulder-length apart. He did not look happy, but then, when did he ever?

"Get out there," the Box Ghost pointed a different screen, this one showing bounty hunters in the process of robbing a grocery story, "and stop them. One stray bullet, one laser blast, one overthrown grenade, one piece of falling debris is all its gonna take to make Danny Phantom's world, and everyone else's, come crashing down around us."

X looked at the Box Ghost thoughtfully. His head snapped towards his favorite Operatives after several seconds. "Do whatever he tells you."

K and O watched their leader leave in stunned silence. Leaving a ghost to head an assault on a human force? While Mike and Jackson were alright with the idea, they never would have expected it from a man who hated ghosts with every fiber of his being, down to the last molecule of his body.

"Well?" Mike said at long last. "What's step one?"

To Be Continued

_A/N: Hmm, something must really have these Observants spooked (no pun intended). Now the GIW steps in to give Danny a hand . . . again, no puns. __Next chapter? X-Treme, Valerie, Lydia and all her tattoos face off against Phantom and the Box Ghost? Incredible! So amazing even I wouldn't think to write it! Which is why I'm here to help me. Durr.  
AND WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP CALLING HIM Danny PHANTOM?_

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ darkbunny92, dpphan333, Shining Zephyr, Bloxham, Katreal, darkness over day, _and_ Writin' Dude.

**HAPPY EASTER '08  
**


	79. Augmentation 6

Chapter LXXXVII

Danny Fenton watched in mild surprise as pairs White Raptor jet planes blasted through the skies outside the window. Similarly colored tanks took to the streets below, followed closely by regiments of Guys in White agents. The GIW was out in full force throughout the city, engaging bounty hunters wherever they reared their ugly heads. The sounds of distant battle could be heard all through the city. The ground would tremble occasionally as a tank shell or an air-to-ground missile exploded.

The evening before, Agent X of the Guys in White had appeared at a press conference alongside the governor and Mayor Foley. Amity Park was officially declared to be in a state of emergency until the bounty hunter threat was gone. There had been no luck in finding the one responsible for posting the bounty in the first place, but Agent X had stated that the GIW Intelligence Department was close.

That scared Danny. If Plasmius was found out, there was no doubt that she would expose him. There was little he could do about it, though.

_**You have nothing to fear from her. If you are not responsible for her secret being exposed, she will not expose you.**_

**Are you mad? Of course she will expose him! A harlot like Plasmius would take joy in telling the world about Daniel!**

_**Perhaps. But we do not know if the Guys in White are looking at her as a suspect. Plasmius is a clever woman. It is likely she has managed to deceive them by leaving falsified information for them to follow.**_

_That sounds like something she'd do._

**Indeed.**

_**Now, you must help rid your town of this menace. We will assist you in whatever way we can.**_

**It's not like we have a choice . . .**

Danny looked around. English, his eighth period class, was nearly over. His friends had distanced themselves from him for most of the day after Paulina had come running into school blabbering on about how Phantom had flown her home and saved her from a bounty hunter. Sam was especially cold.

_Are you still mad?_ he scribbled on a note.

Danny tossed the piece of paper onto Sam's desk and waited for her reply. The note landed on his desk several seconds later and he quickly opened it.

_What do you think? Ever since you found out how Walker was born, you've been getting closer to Paulina! It's like you WANT Walker to be born!_

Danny sighed. _I don't want Walker to be born, Sam. And I'm not getting any closer to Paulina than I was before. Maybe you're just noticing it more._

Danny tossed the note again and patiently waited. The clock was moving painstakingly slow, almost as if it was mocking him. He was jostled from this angry train of thought as the note landed on his desk again.

_You know what, Danny? You can have Paulina. You can have her and make as many Walker babies as you can with her. I'm DONE trying to get through to you!_

Danny sighed and squeezed the paper into a ball in his hand. He fed a small amount of ectoplasm into the fist and felt the paper burn in his palm. When he opened his hand, only ashes and barely visible green smoke remained.

When the bell rang Danny made a beeline for the door, not even bothering to continue the conversation with Sam. He stormed down the hall and shoved his book bag into his locker before slamming it shut. There was homework he had due for tomorrow, but he was going to be too busy to even think about it.

Danny made his way for the restroom, but was stopped short as two feminine arms wrapped around his neck. The teenager's temper flared and he thought about jerking himself from the girl's embrace, but something told him not to.

**DON'T DO IT!**

_Why not?_

**You feel what's pressing into your back?**

_Uh, yeah? Most girls have them. And Sam is a girl._

**Hers pale in comparison to those ones. That is not Sam.**

_Then who is-_

"What, no hello?" the voice of Paulina floated into his ears and his tense body relaxed a small bit. "Was it something I said?"

Danny chuckled despite himself. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else," he said finally, turning around to face the girl. "Someone I'm not speaking to, at the moment . . ." he added in an irritated tone.

"Sam? Aw, did you two have a fight?"

Danny sighed. "We're not _together_, Paulina. I couldn't date someone with a temper like hers; always yelling at me about some dumb thing."

"So you're single?"

"Uh, yeah? Why?"

"I dunno," Paulina twirled her hair around her index finger. The thumb on her other hand hooked into a belt loop on her pants. "Wanna catch a movie tonight?"

Danny smirked. "I don't think your boyfriend would like that very much."

"Who, Dash? We broke up months ago!"

"No, not Dash," Danny glanced over at the jock who was laughing at some miserable scrawny boy he had just shoved into a locker. "_Phantom_. Word on the street is that you two are becoming quite an item."

Paulina blushed. "Really? Did he tell you that?"

"No, but everyone else has. So what's up with you two?"

The Latina girl giggled. "He's cute and everything, but he _is_ a superhero. He can't possibly have time for a normal girl like me."

"I guess that makes sense," Danny felt like jumping for joy. She actually understood why they couldn't be together! It never really was an issue, but Danny felt his spirits soar. Thankfully, he was kept in line by his more intelligent other.

"So, movie tonight? Yes? No?"

"I'd love to, Paulina, but my parents are going out on patrol with the Guys in White and they, er, _insisted _that I go with them."

Paulina nodded knowingly. "And I take it you can't say _no_ when they insist on something?"

"Sadly . . ."

Paulina smiled and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah! Definitely! I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Paulina waved goodbye as she ran to catch up with her friends. Danny smiled to himself and turned towards the restroom, but came face to face with Sam.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, fists planted on her waist.

**Do not answer her! She is just as miserable a bitch as Plasmius! **

_**That is an unfair assessment of the circumstances. She has every right to be angry.**_

_Whose side are you on?_

_**I never said I approved of her discontent.**_

_Well then you can tell her I'm not speaking to her._

"Samantha, please do not be angered by Daniel's actions." The voice that came from Danny's throat was definitely not his own. It was older, more mature, and held a sophisticated German accent. "He is not trying to personally offend you."

Sam stared at her friend with wide eyes. "What in the-"

"Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Tempest, one of Daniel's proto-consciousnesses. Myself and Folium, the other proto-consciousness, were left in Daniel's mind from the Shadow Phantom incident. We have slowly developed in his subconscious into the self-aware entities that we are now."

"So . . . you're not Danny?"

"No. Our glorious master has tasked me with communing with you, as he presently does not wish to speak to you."

Sam scowled at Danny. "Well can you ask him why he is trying so hard to get in Paulina's pants when he knows exactly what will happen?"

"I believe I can effectively answer that query myself," Tempest cleared Danny's throat. "After a considerable amount of speculation, we have decided that Walker cannot be conceived by merely talking to Paulina. The human reproduction process is much more complicated than that. Would you like me to explain it to you, Samantha?"

Sam's angry expression grew even angrier at Tempest's condescending tone. She wasn't five years old; she knew how those things worked.

"I'll take that as a no," the voice said. "You do not have to worry about Daniel mating with Paulina. At least not presently. He has conflicting emotions over who he truly has feelings for, and engaging in sexual intercourse with Paulina surely will not help."

Sam looked at Danny with trace amounts of hope glimmering in her eyes. "So he doesn't like Paulina like that?"

"Oh he does," Tempest corrected. "He only wishes to refrain from sexual activity. Everything else is well within his acceptable parameters."

Sam sighed. "I guess that's better than nothing."

Danny's voice was the one that spoke up next. "I hope that cleared things up?"

Sam nodded. "Why didn't you tell me about those protoceratops things?"

"I didn't want you guys freaking out," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess that doesn't matter now."

"So you don't want to-"

"No, Sam," Danny held up a hand, cutting his friend off. "I don't want to stick my gigoogity in her gishmoigen." Sam punched Danny in the arm. Hard. "OW! Geeze, come on! That really hurt!"

"What happened to chivalry? Don't tell me you're going to let it die too!"

"Oh, don't worry," Danny said reassuringly. "Chivalry's not dead; it's just inside the Fenton Thermos. I still hold doors open, say please and thank you and I try to kiss on the third date. Although _that_ one's been out of my control so far . . ."

Sam giggled. "So, my knight in shining armor, wanna head over to my place? I got that new Jackie Chan movie from my uncle."

"Skulker?"

"No, Uncle Ted. He works at Hollywood."

"Ah. Well as much as I'd love to cuddle with you on the loveseat that can barely seat a toothpick, I have to go vanquish the bounty hunters from my kingdom. The Guys may kick ass, but I destroy it."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Is that one sexual?"

"Depends. Do you want that one to be sexual?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Get going, hero. Just remember, I'm never mad at you. I'm just usually mad at the stupid things you do."

Danny stuck his tongue out at Sam as he rushed into the restroom. He gave a heavy sigh of relief when he saw it was unoccupied and transformed into Phantom. Those bounty hunters were about to feel pain that Phantom himself wasn't aware he could inflict.

* * *

Skulker looked around Plasmius' hotel room. He scanned the room, and then the other rooms attached to her suite, and finally the rest of the building. Plasmius was not here.

"Computer, locate ghost entity Plasmius," Skulker commanded his onboard CPU.

"Plasmius has returned to her castle in Wisconsin," his computer's monotonous voice responded. The recent software upgrade had scanners that could locate any ghost anywhere on the planet, or in the Ghost Zone. Skulker thought it a waste to use its incredible ability in such a short range. But time was a premium.

"Activate warp sequence," he grumbled.

The action would use up a considerable amount of energy, and Skulker could already see his power reserves draining on his _Heads Up Display_. His robotic body flickered with green electricity and Skulker concentrated on Plasmius's laboratory. His body flickered and shuddered before disappearing from the room entirely.

Skulker's warp sequence was powered by his teleportation powers as a ghost. The sequence was also tied into his GPS navigation system, and could take him anywhere within the hemisphere he was located on. It was limited to one jump, however, before his power was drained. In the Ghost Zone, where his energy source literally surrounded him, he could warp anywhere as often as he wanted.

Skulker felt his body rematerialize in the familiar pink and purple walled laboratory. He disengaged the warp sequence and shrugged his shoulders, trying to remove the stiffness that resulted from the procedure.

"Ah, Skulker, how nice of you to drop by," Plasmius said as she walked from another room. "And just in time, too. News stations all over the world are covering this event."

She snapped her fingers and a cloud of binary numbers appeared at her side. "You remember Nicolai Technus, right?"

Skulker stared at the cloud of binary as it hovered in place. "He is supposed to be in GIW captivity. How did he escape?"

"Oh, he's still in their confinement. For now," Plasmius mused. "This is a copy he spun off just before his capture. This duplicate brought the Mid-Morph DNA sample I had been so desperately trying to ascertain. Technus, darling, would you please?"

The cloud of binary swirled around and floated over to a massive projection screen. The device activated as Technus passed through it. Skulker saw the images that the news channel was reporting. Somehow, avoiding the detection of every database he had ever infiltrated, the Guys in White had amassed an army. Fighter jets, assault tanks, helicopters, even experimental armed walker units swarmed over the city, bludgeoning the bounty hunter forces without mercy.

At the head of the offensive was a familiar ghost, adorned with simple blue garments. Ectoplasmic cubes were fired from his hands; still others appeared from thin air. The Box Ghost was a fierce combatant and he led his employing force with ferocity that Skulker had seen only several times before.

"I am about to call off the bounty," Plasmius said as she watched the footage intently.

"Why?" Skulker asked without even turning to Plasmius. "This is but a minor setback."

"Perhaps, but I never intended for this to happen."

Skulker nodded. "Still no sign of that ghost that stole Johnny Thirteen's augmentation formula?"

"No," Plasmius sneered. "I had hoped this would create an adequate diversion so that I could infiltrate Amity Park as my ghost self and hunt the intruder down. There is no possible way that could be achieved now."

"And if I were to go in your stead?" Skulker offered.

"You've already been there," Plasmius replied. "And I am still without that formula."

"I was not ordered to retrieve it," Skulker countered. "I was not informed of your latest course of action until now. Allow me to retrieve the formula for you. Perhaps I can even enlist Daniel's assistance."

Plasmius folded her arms across her chest. "Very well, Skulker. But do not fail me. I grow tired of having no results for all the trouble I go through with my research."

Skulker nodded and tapped a button on his chest. The nearly depleted power source ejected from its insertion console and landed in Skulker's waiting hand. He walked over to the Ghost Portal and filled the device until it was filled to the brim with the glowing green substance. Slipping it back into his armor, he powered up his warp sequence again and vanished.

"Technus, are my override codes still in place?" Plasmius asked the cloud of binary.

"Affirmative," it replied in a hushed, dull voice. The duplicate had been growing steadily weaker ever since it was separated from the original Technus all those months ago.

"Excellent. Return to the replication chamber and continue to monitor subjects five-eighteen through five-twenty three."

"As you command." The cloud floated in through the door Plasmius had exited upon Skulker's arrival and the door slid shut behind him.

Despite all the minor inconveniences, this latest plan was going decidedly well. It was only a matter of time before that formula was back in her hands. And then, nothing would stand in her way.

* * *

Phantom flew over the highest buildings of Amity Park's inner city. He reveled in his speed and the altitude he gained with each passing second. The city was growing smaller and smaller beneath him. All the individual lights were merging together in the dark sky.

_How come you didn't tell me you could talk through me? And with a different voice, no less!_

_**You never asked using your voice.**_

_Can you control my body?_

_**Not unless our mutual survival depended upon it. Even then, it is only a temporary override of your corporeal form.**_

**Even if you willed your body's control over to one of us, it would not happen. Only small things, like talking, are able to be used by us.**

_And you promise you won't do it without my permission?_

**Yes.**

_**As you wish.**_

_Thanks._

Phantom was caught off guard as two White Raptor fighter jets roared past him. Phantom regained his bearings and followed. He was soon at the same speed as both of the machines and looked from one pilot to the other. Each one gave him a thumbs-up. Phantom saluted them and dove down towards the city. The jet's followed him.

The exertion from his descent blurred his vision, but Phantom could still see clearly enough to discern a particularly large amount of GIW troops firing on a bounty hunter stronghold. Phantom charged his hands with ectoplasm, feeding as much energy into his clenched fists as he could muster.

_Any chance you guys could help me out with this one?_

_**I would be delighted.**_

The twin orbs of green pulsating energy began to spark and crackle. Electroplasm flickered up and down his arms and Phantom raced towards his target, slightly ahead of the jets. He pumped his fists forward and the twin blasts of electrified ectoplasm ripped through the bounty hunters' barricade. Bodies flew through the air with debris tossed up in the attack. Phantom heard two thuds and felt the air reverberate from the explosions. He grinned at the realization that the jets had followed him.

Cheers echoed up from the street as Phantom circled around. The Guys in White were expressing their approval as they fired into the stragglers. The ghost boy stopped in mid air to greet another ghost that was flying towards him.

"Nice shot, kid," the Box Ghost said with a smirk. "Nearly leveled the building with that one."

"Yeah, well, I do what I can to get by."

"Keep it up," the Box Ghost replied. "We'll have this city cleared out by morning."

"What got them to finally come out and stop this?" Phantom was looking at the uniformed government battalion.

The Box Ghost could only grin. "I did."

Phantom looked at the elder specter quizzically, but a sniper bullet passed through his head, preventing him from asking questions.

"You go check in with Mike and Jackson. I'll take this one," the Box Ghost sped off, hands glowing with ethereal energy.

Phantom turned to the scene below him and made his way for the center of the group. A comm. station had been set up amidst the battle and Operatives K and O were the ones working it.

"Nice to see that my _Guardians In White_ decided to clean up my city," Phantom hollered down to them.

"Nice to see that our charge is finally taking some initiative," K shouted up at him.

Phantom smiled at Jackson's remark and hovered down to street level. "So how goes the siege?"

"Good so far," Mike said from his console. "We have no KIA or MIA, only four wounded, and none of those are critical." He tapped several more buttons, coordinating troops in other parts of town. "The _Poor Bastards_, as we call them, are dead, captured or running."

"Any preference before I head out?" Phantom charged his hand with energy and fired a blast into a window where another sniper had taken up residence.

"None of our guns have a stun setting, and everyone has a gun. You are weapons free, soldier," Jackson said. "Make us proud."

"Yes sir!" Phantom blasted off into the sky. The same two jets from before trailed him as he began his assault.

"Kids," Mike said with a grin.

"Yeah," Jackson replied. "Go figure."

* * *

Valerie watched as bounty hunters left and right were being dropped like flies. Nerve gas grenades were either used in excess or discarded completely in favor of deadly weapons. While some of the hunters were well equipped, none of them had the coordination to mount a successful counter-assault.

She looked from her window to her gear, spread out on her floor after being cleaned and inspected. Her supplier, the mysterious Plasmius ghost, had made another shipment to her the day after Phantom had saved her life. It wouldn't do her any good if she was actually killed in combat.

Valerie had considered helping the bounty hunters against the Guys in White, but banished the thought immediately. The GIW was a branch of the government and the bounty hunters were criminals. Helping them would remove her completely from any good graces in the public. Besides, Phantom was fighting with the GIW. He had very powerful allies.

Another glance out her window revealed two very familiar figured. X-Treme and Melee were running away from the juggernaut that was the Guys in White. A nerve gas grenade exploded near them, and X-treme crumpled to the ground. Melee, whose leg was caught in the gas and was now useless, hoisted his partner over his shoulder and tried to hobble away.

That was all the motivation the Huntress needed. She reassembled her gear and took off through her open window.

* * *

Melee ducked into an alley as more explosions rocked the ground around him. He stumbled back against a wall, safely concealed from the wave of white by a dumpster. With a sardonic grin, Melee realized this was the very alley, the very dumpster, where the first bounty hunter casualty had occurred. He looked down at his incapacitated partner and sighed.

"We will survive this," he said quietly as he tried to prop the slimmer man up against the wall. "I promise you, my friend."

"I hope you can make good on that promise," said a vaguely familiar voice. Melee looked up and saw the Huntress descending towards him. "God knows I can't carry you both from here."

"Ah, the Huntress returns!" Melee said jovially while still keeping his voice down. "Tell me, young lady, what brings you here?"

"We need to get off the streets. The Guys in White have Phantom fighting with them now. From what I've seen, he's been allowed to kill any potential threats."

"He has taken lives?" Melee asked curiously. "He never struck me as the murderous sort."

"He doesn't care if he killed any of them. He didn't care when he killed my mother."

"You can seek revenge on Phantom once we are safe. Get us into your house. I can concoct a drug to counteract the effects of this nerve gas."

Valerie nodded and crouch-walked over to the end of the alley. She peeked out and, after spying no government agents, returned to her comrades. "I can get X-Treme inside first, then I'll come back for you, ok?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Now go!"

Valerie hoisted the man onto her board and flew up to her open window. She maneuvered the board in through the frame and slid the unconscious man onto the floor before turning and flying back out. Melee was leaning against the wall, looking up and down the street. The Huntress swooped in and Melee grabbed onto the underside of her Banshee Board.

The craft struggled to rise, but after it adjusted its internal compensation system, it took to the air with ease. Melee stumbled into Valerie's room through the window, careful to make as little noise as possible. He hobbled over to her restroom and opened the medicine cabinet.

"This will do. Thank you very much, Huntress."

"You're welcome," she replied. "But I have to leave. Phantom's out there killing innocent people and I have to stop him."

Melee nodded as he began to mix an assortment of pills and powders together. Some ingredients came from his belt satchels. "Do what you must, Huntress."

Valerie nodded and ran from the room. She tossed her board through the window frame and leapt out after it. Her boots magnetically sealed to the device and she sped off, searching for Phantom.

Little did she know, Operatives K and O had seen the entire spectacle.

* * *

Lydia was roused from her sleep by a violent explosion. The vacant room in a shoddy motel she had decided to take temporary residence in was one of many buildings to have been struck by a tank shell. The building's structural integrity would keep it standing for the time being, but Lydia decided it was best not to be in the place when it toppled. She threw off the blanket that had covered her body and took off through the ceiling. Once in the air, she saw the damage was much more extensive.

Columns of smoke rose into the sky from dozens of locations. Jets flew around the city in pairs and tanks dominated the streets. Bounty hunters were fleeing in all directions as the government army advanced. New to appear on the scene were dozens of white helicopters, shining spotlights down on the bounty hunters as they fled. The light seemed to act as a beacon for missiles and tank shells, as the lit up areas seemed to explode almost spontaneously.

The tattooed ghost reached out and felt one of her tattoos through their telepathic bond. Phantom, who Lydia had discovered to be Danny Fenton, was flying through the air with a pair of jets. His own green blasts of energy exploded alongside the GIW's barrage. He had chosen a side.

After checking to make sure the augmentation formula was safely sealed away in her cloak, Lydia pulled her hood up over her head and took off.

* * *

Skulker pinpointed the location of the ghost he was sent to hunt down the instant he arrived back in Amity Park. His scanners were adjusted to key in on the unique energy signal given off by Johnny Thirteen's formula. Once he found the ghost, he began his hunt. There wasn't a ghost alive that could escape him.

* * *

Phantom heard the sound of Valerie's Banshee Board before he saw it. He spun around just in time to dodge the sleek metal craft as Valerie tried to remove his head from his body.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Phantom called after her. "There are news crews all over the place, so they finally get to see you for the anarchist you really are!"

"Save it, spook," Valerie shouted back. "I'm not here to bring down America, I'm here to bring down you!"

"Oh, good one!" Phantom charged his fists with energy as Valerie circled around.

"Why does everything have to be a joke with you?"

"If it wasn't, then nobody would like me," Phantom replied as he dodged laser flak. "I have a reputation to maintain."

Phantom prepared for a second attack, but was distracted as his ghost sense activated.

_That can't be the Box Ghost, can it?_

_**No, your ghost sense is already aware of his presence. There are two more as-of-yet unidentified ghosts in the area.**_

**DESTROY THEM ALL!**

_Not yet. I need to see who they are first. Maybe they can help me._

Phantom's stomach lurched as he saw the tattoo ghost that had attacked him at school. She was looking right at him, and her tattoos were spinning around her waiting to attack.

She was intercepted by a flash of silver and green as Skulker slammed into her. The two ghosts sailed through the air and crashed into a building. Once the dust cleared, Phantom and Valerie saw Skulker holding the tattoo ghost by her neck.

"Thought you could use a hand," Skulker said with an evil grin on his face.

"Uh, thanks?" Danny replied cautiously.

Valerie glared at the robotic ghost behind her visor. If he was attacking the female ghost, maybe that one could be of some assistance. The Huntress fired off a missile at Skulker, who threw Lydia behind him and fired a targeting laser at the missile. It exploded, but Valerie was already behind him and blasted the robot from his perch. Skulker tumbled from the hole in the wall and collided with the roof of a building below.

Valerie flew into the building and offered a hand to the ghost, who looked dazed.

"If that mechanized monster is after you, you can't be all bad. And I think we need each other's help."

Lydia looked from Valerie's masked face to her gloved hand. With a devious grin, she accepted the younger girl's help. The two flew from the building and faced Phantom and Skulker. The two pairs of combatants looked from one to the other with disdain.

"I'm giving you one warning, Valerie," Phantom growled. "This is serious; people can die here. And I'm not going to hold back."

Valerie stared at Phantom with unrestrained hatred. "And I'm giving you . . . NO WARNING AT ALL!"

* * *

K and O burst into Valerie's room, guns loaded and laser sights sweeping the area. X-Treme looked up from his position sprawled on the floor and watched in horror as one man gestured to him. The other pulled out a pair of handcuffs and moved towards him.

Suddenly Melee burst from the restroom, shattering the door into hundreds of splinters. The two men spun around and opened fire, but their shots went wide. Melee ducked under the gunfire and tackled the two operatives to the ground.

X-Treme saw his companion stand from the ground and hobble over to him. His leg was still immobile from the nerve gas. The massive ninja hunched over and held a napkin covered in an orange powder under X-Treme's nose. The vapors wafted into his sinuses and the muscles in his head and neck began working.

"Wus goin on?" he mumbled.

"No time, here, drink this," Melee tilted his friend's head forward and poured his liquid concoction down the man's throat. Almost instantly, the rest of his body regained functionality. "Now get out of here! I'll cover your escape!"

X-Treme nodded and looked out the window. His skateboard was lying on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. With the push of a button, the board sprang to life and flew up to the window. X-Treme leapt out onto it and looked back at Melee.

The ninja took a step forward, but stopped as the sound of a gun going off came from behind him. Melee looked down at his chest. His stitches, which were supposed to hold together the wound Phantom made, could not hold the blood that Operative K's bullet pushed out through it. The massive ninja clutched at his chest and reached out to his friend.

"Go!"

Melee toppled backwards and the last traces of life left his body.

"**_NOOOOOOOOOO!_**" X-Treme cried out in vain as the two government agents maneuvered around the bed, training their weapons on him.

X-Treme grabbed his own gun from his belt and opened fire. The Operatives ducked for cover as X-Treme filled the room with metal slugs. Once the clip had run dry, K and O pointed their guns back over the bed they had dived behind and returned fire, only to find that X-Treme had fled.

The Box Ghost saw the bounty hunter flee from the window of the residential area and flew down to greet him. Two ectoplasmic boxes were sent at him, but the man maneuvered his skateboard around the attacks and continued on his way.

"You can't run from me," the Box Ghost taunted.

"Who's running?" X-Treme's ecto-grenade exploded several feet away from the Box Ghost's head and sent him spiraling up into the sky.

The grenade was too far away to have seriously hurt the ghost, but the superheated air had burned half his face. The Box Ghost growled and prepared to attack, but two more grenades were tossed up at him. The Box Ghost dodged grenades and ecto-rifle fire as the bounty hunter chased him up the side of a building.

Once at the top, the Box Ghost saw he was floating in between four very angry beings. He saw the Huntress and Lydia, the tattoo ghost, on one side and Skulker and Phantom on the other. It didn't take much thinking to pick a team.

X-Treme was not far behind and sprung into the air. His last two grenades exploded near the Box Ghost, but a new player intercepted the explosions with his metallic body. Skulker waved a mechanical hand through the air, dissipating the dust cloud.

X-Treme looked over his shoulder and saw Lydia and the Huntress. He knew where he belonged in this conflict.

He looked back at his enemies as they powered up. The Box Ghost formed several ectoplasmic boxes above his head. The robot deployed multiple laser and rocket launching apparatuses. Phantom, rather than charging his hands with ghostly energy, pulled a familiar black object from his belt. With the push of a button, a glowing orange axe snapped from the end of the hilt.

Valerie hoisted her Shuriken launcher over her shoulder. Lydia surrounded her body with all her tattoos. X-Treme took the hint and reloaded his weapon. He was grateful that he didn't have eyes so that he wouldn't have to wipe away any tears. He redirected his sorrow and grief over the loss of Melee into anger and rage. These ghosts would pay for taking his best friend from him.

He didn't hear the first shot go off and he didn't know who fired it. It hardly mattered. For the first time in his life, X-Treme charged into battle without his massive comrade at his side. For the first time in his life, he thought he was going to die.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Well this one was getting a little too long. NEXT chapter has the massive fight sequence. I needed to plausibly get all the fighters in one place before they could beat the crap out of each other._

_So how about that? Danny leading an aerial combat unit? Being totally ok with killing people? Letting his others talk through him? Flying through the sky? What will he do next?!_

_Now I must go have my wet and voluptuous Latina and Asian nurses administer mouth to mouth resuscitation to me. And each other. At the same time. Because I am about to FREAK OUT. 90800+ hits?! 949 reviews?! ZOMFG, and we're not even at the REALITY WARS yet!  
I may need a moment . . ._

_Ok, I'm better. Reviewers, I heart you. Especially_ Katreal, Fulcon, Bubski, Jiece18, darkness over day , Melodious Emptyness, Writin' Dude , MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, Shining Zephyr, _and_ Elaienar.

_If I forgot you or misspelled your name, I apologize. _

_Now, some things I think you all need to be made aware of or to be made _more _aware of._

_1) _Transformers: Animated_ is one of the greatest shows on the planet. Part 2 of the season finale is next Saturday. WATCH IT. If you haven't already, find and watch the other 15 episodes of season one. _

_2) _The Spectacular Spider-Man_ . . . will get better once they introduce Mary Jane as someone other than the "girl with the wonderful personality". And Venom. Watch it._

_3) _Magnus-7_ is no longer my Deviant Art account name. I have relented and decided to reveal to you all that it has been changed to _Grumbletron_ (I know; I'm so deviously clever). There are plenty of pictures for you to feast your eyes (AND COMMENT) on. I don't do "requests", but if there's a UDP character that almost everyone really wants to see REALLY badly, I can probably draw it. You can either search for me on the website, or use the conveniently located link for my homepage._

_4) Have you watched _Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres_ yet? Well go do it. NOW._

**YOU DON'T KNOW THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE.**


	80. Augmentation 7

Chapter LXXXVIII

The rifle held in Thomas's hands was extensively uncomfortable. Being one of the newer laser-tech models, it had not yet been at the forefront of the mind of science to slim down the design to make the weapon easier to carry and use. Unlike almost every other weapon with similar size issues, this one had accuracy and power that made up for the discomfort. Still, accuracy didn't mean much if one could not keep the rifle steady long enough to take advantage of said accuracy.

And that was the exact problem Thomas was having. His target was standing out in the open. Hardly any bystanders, no federal agents, no police, nothing. It was a perfect setting. Now if only he could get the shot . . .

"Don't move, bounty hunter scum," said an ice cold voice from behind.

Thomas's grip on the rifle tightened. He was wrong; there were police in the area. They were just behind him. The bounty hunter watched as his target nonchalantly looked around the area. He smiled at a mother and her child as they walked down the street before standing away from his bench and moving away.

"Put the gun down, stand up and put your hands on top of your head," the same man commanded.

Thomas slowly complied. The rifle clattered to the ground and he slowly rose to his feet. He turned to face the officer and placed his hands on his head. Seeing that the policeman was accompanied by two others, Thomas sighed. There was no way he was going to get out of this one. His skateboard was lying on the ground some distance away. Two officers advanced on him, bearing handcuffs. The third held his pistol steadily in his hands, aiming the barrel right at Thomas' forehead.

The man looked from the officer's gun to his face and back again. He didn't resist as the steel bindings were locked over his wrists. There was no point. He would either die in prison or die right there on the roof of the building. Thomas decided that he wasn't too keen on having his brains splattered all over Detroit.

Suddenly, a black dot appeared on the horizon. It steadily grew larger and larger at an impossibly fast rate. Thomas saw that it was no dot, it was a man. And he was massive. With a _**THUD**_ that rocked the building to its very foundations, the enormous black-clad man landed on the building behind the officer aiming his handgun at Thomas's forehead. The giant clamped a large hand over top the officer's head and threw him. The officer tumbled to the edge of the roof, teetered on the edge, and finally tipped over and fell.

The hulking wall of muscle didn't wait to see the first officer plummet to his demise. With a flick of his wrist, a black cylindrical object in his hand sprouted a glowing orange axe. He hurled the energy weapon through the air, making it spin like a boomerang. The axe made an arc around Thomas and tore through the remaining officer's hands, severing all four appendages just under the elbow. They both cried out in pain and stumbled back, falling over the other edge of the skyscraper.

Thomas looked at the monster as he caught the axe in mid air with ease. The orange energy axe dissipated and the black cylinder was returned to a clasp on the man's belt. He slowly approached Thomas, deliberately taking his time. Thomas was not afraid.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Before the giant could answer, the sound of a round being loaded into the chamber of a gun whispered though the air. Both men's heads snapped toward the sound. The first officer, who _hadn't _fallen off the side of the building, was supporting himself on the edge with one arm while taking aim at one of the two criminals with the other.

Thomas knew the barrel of the gun was pointed at him. The ninja must have known that as well, because a heavily muscled arm pushed him out of the way as the gun belched out a metal slug. Thomas thought he had closed his eyes out of slight shock when the gun fired before blacking out. It wasn't until some time later did he realize that, even though Melee had tried to push him out of the way, the bullet had still hit him. Just missing the temple, the bullet had torn through the front of Thomas' head. The damage done to his nasal cavity was fixable, but his eyeballs had been completely obliterated by the shot.

Melee had sworn to stop bounty hunting for life, but Thomas would have none of that. Once a mysterious benefactor had given him the power of sight in the form of an optical sensor visor, Thomas retrofitted his skateboard so that he could hunt alongside his new found friend. Melee had insisted that they both swear off bounty hunting.

"Well," he had replied with a grin. "That wouldn't be very . . . _extreme_, now would it?"

* * *

X-Treme ducked under an ectoplasmic cube that had been aiming to decapitate him. He flipped off his skateboard and over two more cubes and landed back on his device, firing at his ghostly offender.

The three-on-three fight had been a standstill for quite some time. At least from what the bounty hunter could tell. The Huntress and Phantom's fight had taken them from the city and out into the park. Lydia and the robot ghost were dueling down in the streets. Neither of them seemed too concerned about the safety and wellbeing of those around them, and the Guys in White were having quite a time protecting the evacuees.

His battle with this box themed ghost had also taken them into the streets, but in the opposite direction of Lydia and her dance partner which was a good thing, because even if Lydia was there to help him, the robot ghost would be there to help this box ghost. And X-Treme didn't want to fight both of them at the same time. He probably would not be doing so well.

"Whoa!" X-Treme ducked under a bus that had been thrown at him. The vehicle crashed through a small building and toppled it.

The bounty hunter reciprocated by tossing two of his ecto-grenades at the ghost. The one was sealed in a cube and detonated harmlessly inside. The other bounced off its intended container and landed in the Box Ghost's front pocket on his overalls.

"Well crap," the ghost murmured before it exploded.

The Box Ghost clutched at his stomach as his body was sent flying through the air. He slammed into the side of a building and crashed through the wall. X-Treme pursued. Once inside, the bounty hunter immediately regretted his decision. Amidst the rubble floated the Box Ghost. Despite his severely damaged body, a devilish smile was spread across his face. Perhaps that had something to do with the ridiculous amounts of boxes that lined every wall in the warehouse.

* * *

Amity Park's Park was unnervingly silent. There were no people meandering through the trails, no couples cuddling together on a bench, no bikers, and no pets. Nothing. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon completely and the last rays of light were fast retreating after it, as if they too wished to escape Amity Park. The serenity did not last, however. A flash of ghostly light passed under the cover of several closely grouped trees. Barely a second later, pink laser energy burned through the canopy and scorched the earth beneath the foliage.

Phantom pulled up from his current flight path and circled around. The Huntress was close on his tail, and her ability as a ghost hunter was practically screaming at Phantom. He only just dodged her missiles, he only just evaded the spinning metal Shuriken laden with laser energy, and he only just outmaneuvered her. Only just was not going to cut it for much longer.

The ghost boy dropped mid-flight and grabbed onto a tree branch. Valerie soared overhead, her speed forcing her to make a wide circle in order to resume her attack on Phantom. Her Banshee Board fired at Phantom relentlessly; its ecto-fusion power core giving the flying machine's weapon systems unlimited energy. Phantom too had unlimited energy. What he didn't have was unlimited, machine-like stamina.

As more and more of the Huntress' shots got through his defenses, Phantom knew his weariness was showing. And not even his trophy weapon, which had long since been returned to his belt, could help him now.

"Valerie, stop doing this!" Phantom shouted as the girl's laser blasts ripped through the air much too close to his face for his liking. The smell of ozone filled his nostrils and Phantom nearly gagged on the overabundance of the smell.

"Why? So you can go back to killing people?" the Huntress spat as she swooped in for another attack. "You took my mother's life, and now you're murdering more innocent people-"

"Do you even hear yourself?" Phantom roared as he caught a missile and let it detonate in his hand. The blinding pain was temporary, but Phantom saw his mangled appendage was already starting to heal. "These people aren't innocent! They're criminals!"

"And so that makes it ok to slaughter them like animals?!" Valerie switched her rifle from semi to full-automatic and opened fire.

Phantom lazily dodged the assault. Many of the laser bolts tore through his body. "I'm not trying to kill them," he gritted his teeth through the pain. "I'm trying to save this town!"

"You've done a great job so far, you sonuva-"

Phantom grabbed Valerie by the throat as she passed by. An ectoblast disabled her Banshee Board's stability generators and the board fell from the sky. He flew down into the streets and held the girl out by the back of her top.

"Look at this, Valerie," he said sadly.

The girl slowly stopped struggling and looked at what Phantom was talking about. People were running through the streets to GIW safe zones where helicopters were moving the citizens to safer parts of town. Phantom aimed the Huntress in another position and she witnessed two bounty hunters, amidst the chaos, looting an electronics store. Further down the street, screams of horror and cries for help echoed into the sky. The lucky ones would be answered and saved. The rest . . .

Phantom flew down into the park and set a now still and contemplative Valerie down on a bench and floated in front of her.

"This has gone on long enough. I know you hate me. Try as I might, I think I'm starting to realize that you'll never believe me when I say I'm sorry that I couldn't save your mother. You say I'm a murderer, that I'm nothing but a ghost." Phantom touched down on the ground and sat next to Valerie, who scooted away from him. "I wanted to change your mind. I guess I can't. So I'm not going to try anymore."

Phantom exhaled a deep, ragged breath. "But we can't fight now. This city," he looked into her eyes, "_our _city needs us tonight. Otherwise, there might not be one to defend tomorrow."

Valerie looked at the ghost boy, thankful that her mask partially covered her face. Her slightly agape jaw would have been a dead give away to the surprise that had overcome her, but Phantom was looking dejectedly at the ground. After several minutes of silence between the two, with the faded sounds of panic and war coming from somewhere in the distance, Phantom slowly rose to his feet. He rose up off the ground, but a gloved hand grabbed onto his forearm. Phantom looked down and saw Valerie standing, holding onto him.

Her mouth curved into a small grin, and Phantom's mouth mimicked the gesture. For tonight, the arms and wrath would be discarded. Tonight, Phantom and the Huntress fought together.

* * *

Skulker had decided that either Lydia was playing him for a fool, or she was really as pathetically weak as she made herself out to be. The biggest of her tattoos, consisting mostly of snakes and spiders, were about as dangerous to the mechanoid as ambient dust particles. The mercenary vaporized them before they could get anywhere near him.

Any other ghost would have a time-and-a-half with Lydia. Her tattoos were bonded to her very being, and the designs on her body acted as spawn points for the various creatures she could create. As long as she had enough power, her tattoo army was as limitless as the stars in the sky.

Skulker's shoulder-mounted ecto-cannons were targeting the tattoo monsters Lydia was generating. They were doing a very efficient job at eliminating them, but the creatures were replaced as quickly as Skulker blasted them away, which meant that he was making absolutely no progress, unless one counted depleting one's nearly limitless ammo progress. And Skulker very seriously doubted that.

The robot activated his arm-mounted ecto-beam rifles and opened fire. To nobody's surprise, Lydia evaded the barrage with relative ease. Skulker's annoyed expression deteriorated to an increasingly angered one. Lydia was a moving ghost factory, and she could move very fast.

As Skulker was thinking of what his next move should be, his audio receptors registered the Huntress' Banshee Board making a fast approach. Skulker's face contorted into undeniable disgust. Lydia was hard enough to fend off. How was he going to defeat the Huntress as well?

As if to answer his question, a green lance of ectoplasmic energy slammed into Lydia and flung her into an abandoned SUV, which flipped over on its side. Skulker's head rotated around and he cocked an eyebrow as Phantom _and_ the Huntress flew down to his level.

* * *

X-Treme leapt over a box only to be hit in the face with another one. A third box opened up underneath him and the man fell into it. He emerged out the other side and found that, instead of on the ground level, he was now up closer to the ceiling. X-Treme tried to grab onto the end of the box, but it moved away from him. Two more boxes slammed into either side of the bounty hunter, knocking the wind out of him while breaking a few ribs. Another box smacked him in the back of the head and he toppled forward, grabbing onto yet another box to stop his descent. Three more boxes flew at him. One collided with his face, breaking his visor and effectively blinding him. The other two crushed his fingers down on the surface of the box he was holding on to and he cried out as he slipped away.

The man felt another open box catch him and he fell through. The other side revealed a cold steel floor that he tumbled across. Something about this floor was different, though. And the air, it smelled different. X-Treme felt along the floor until his fingers wrapped around something. Cold, steel bars. The Box Ghost had, somehow, locked him in a cage. The temperature in the room dropped and X-Treme felt his muscles tense up.

"In hindsight, I probably should have done that to all you bounty hunters before this whole thing became a problem," the Box Ghost rubbed his chin. "But then again, everything looks better in hindsight."

"Where am I?" X-Treme demanded.

"An old shipping warehouse on the outskirts of Amity Park," the ghost replied. "All the warehouses and docks in these parts are abandoned. They're supposed to tear them down soon. I hear Amity Port is gonna be huge for the tourism industry."

"And you're just gonna leave me here to die?"

"Yeah, that's the idea. You see, there are more important things going on in this world than bounty. The ghost child that you were trying to cash in on is worth more than every last modicum of currency that has ever existed in history. If only you knew . . ." the Box Ghost sighed. "That doesn't matter now. Nobody will find you here. Nobody even knows you are still alive."

"So I'm just supposed to starve to death?"

"Well when you put it like that, I sound like a jerk. But yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do."

"Why me?" X-Treme's voice was trembling now. "Out of all the bounty hunters here, why am I the one you get to play your sick ghost games with?"

The Box Ghost chuckled. "There's more in store for you than just this life," he replied coolly. "Those who are to shape the very future of existence cannot be so easily be erased from it. Regardless of how you die, you will serve a higher purpose. I'd just prefer that you aren't imprisoned by the Guys in White. I think you'd take a much longer time to expire in there."

X-Treme felt like breaking down. Melee was dead and, as the temperature in the room returned to normal; Thomas knew he was going to share his partner's fate. In his misery, the Box Ghost's words echoed in his mind. _"Regardless of how you die, you will serve a higher purpose"_. Tom dug through his ammo pouch on his belt and a weak grin came to his face. His fingers wrapped around a grenade and he slowly pulled it from the satchel. He turned the device around in his hand, examining it through touch in the absence of sight. His thumb slipped through the pin and gently removed it. The handle that prevented the object from exploding was held tightly against the turtle shell-like surface.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. So many people deserved that apology, and it was directed to all of them. Thomas's grip on the handle loosened. He heard a barely audible click and leaned back against the bars of his cage. Three seconds later, Thomas was on his way to serving that higher purpose.

The Box Ghost heard the explosion, but didn't look back as he flew back to Amity Park. Clockwork had foreseen these events, and the Box Ghost was the one who was needed in order to make them come to fruition. Danny Phantom was the key, and there would be no obstacles to stop the door from opening.

* * *

Skulker did not hold grudges. He didn't judge anything, ghost or human, based off of what others told him. That is why he was able to work so harmoniously with the Huntress as the two flew through the sky, matching each other's moves with machine-like precision. Lydia was being pushed to her limitations; defending herself against all three of her opponents. Speaking of which . . .

A green ball of energy exploded in the tattoo ghost's face courtesy of her third opponent, temporarily blinding her and cascading pain all over her body. Lydia recovered from the attack and continued to spin off animated manifestations of her tattoos. The relentless swarm of ghost creatures did next to nothing to deter her attackers.

Phantom had been using his standard ghost attacks to lead the offensive on Lydia. Her endless army of monsters absorbed all of his attacks. After an exorbitant amount of time was wasted in trying to break through her defenses, Phantom drew the black hilt from his belt and activated it. The umbrella-like shield erupted from the front and Phantom used the newly formed barrier to cave in a ghost serpent's skull as it lunged at him.

The Ghost boy moved in, blasting away with his free hand while protecting himself with the shield. He sped past Lydia's minions and reached their leader. Lydia's shocked expression was replaced by one of pain as Phantom slammed the shield into her abdomen. She tumbled through the air and was intercepted by Skulker, who had taken advantage of the lull in activity. His fist snapped down, striking Lydia in the face in the middle of one of her flips. Her body collided with the concrete below, cracking the pavement.

Valerie descended from the sky and turned into a tight, archaic spin. The tornado of laser and missile fire rained down on Lydia's battered body and raised a large cloud of dust. The Huntress pulled out of her death defying spin and tried to steer herself to her temporary battle buddies. Her impaired vision made the feat very difficult. Phantom chuckled.

"Job well done," Skulker said monotonously. "Now stand aside, I will exterminate this harlot."

"How about this instead?" Phantom offered the mercenary a Fenton Thermos. "I think I've had enough extermination for one day."

Skulker squinted his eyes at Phantom and cycled through his various optical settings. Phantom watched as the robot's eyes shifted in size and shape before a narrow pair of eyes rested on his lower lip. The robot's mouth curved into a grin.

"Even after she did this to you?" Skulker reached down to Phantom's face and peeled the bat tattoo animal off him.

Phantom gaped at the creature as it squeaked and flapped its wings in an attempt to escape. "What is _that_?" he asked in bewilderment.

"A tracer," Skulker replied. "Curious. She would have had to _kiss_ you to get this so firmly on your mouth."

Valerie punched Phantom in the arm. "So this is your girlfriend? Is that why you don't want Skulker to waste her?"

"She is not my girlfriend," Phantom insisted. "We fought outside Casper High. I thought it was weird that she kissed me. Guess I should've figured it would be something like this."

Skulker crushed the bat in his hand. "I just pray there isn't another one anywhere south of your waist, ghost child."

"DUDE!" Phantom threw his hands up in the air. "Totally uncalled for!"

Skulker chuckled and pointed the Fenton Thermos into the crater, only to find that Lydia was gone. The robot whirled back around and glared daggers at the two teenagers.

"Hey," Valerie said before Skulker could reprimand them. "That one was all you."

Skulker grumbled and blasted off into the sky. Phantom was about to follow the mercenary, but Valerie's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Valerie," Phantom replied.

"The night my mother died, you flew away laughing. Why?"

Phantom stared at the girl in shock. "I wasn't laughing," he finally whispered. "That night, and every night after it for a really long time," he paused. "I couldn't stop crying. I wanted to be a hero, and look at what I've come to," Phantom gestured to the carnage around him. "I'm just what you said I am; a murderer."

Valerie's hand slipped off Phantom's shoulder and hung at her side. "You really did try to save her?"

Phantom nodded. "But I failed. I care about you, Valerie, and so do a lot of people I know. The only reason why I didn't throw in the towel that night was because I knew I had to stop it from happening again. It kills me inside knowing that you have to live your life without a mother because I couldn't save her. And instead of keeping my promise and keeping it from happening again, look at what I've come to."

Phantom turned and walked over to a building that had been damaged during the bounty hunters' scuffle with the Guys in White. The area was taped off, as was most of the rest of the block. Valerie followed him over and stood next to him.

"These bounty hunters are people! They have lives, families, friends, people they care about and people who care about them. And I killed them!" Phantom sank to his knees. "I'm not a hero, Valerie. You were right."

The Huntress looked at her prey. Her burning revenge had been reduced to cinders. Her hatred for Phantom was washed away by waves of emotion. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him he was wrong, that he was a hero. Instead, she stood there, not uttering a word. Phantom took off into the sky, not even bothering to say goodbye. He made his way through the war zone, which was significantly less boisterous, and headed for a building in the inner city. A cold rain was starting to trickle down from the sky, but the temperature meant little to the ghost boy.

* * *

Looking out over his city from his spot atop Amity Park's Terror Tower, Phantom consulted his others.

_Why did I do it?_

_**Do what, Daniel?**_

_Why did I kill those people?! _

**You are a warrior! Your power is-**

_SHUT UP! SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! _

**No, YOU SHUT UP!**

Phantom clutched at his head as Folium bellowed deep in his mind.

**Did you consider the alternative? Say you had only mildly injured them. They would go to prison. The ones without any previous criminal records would get minimal to no sentencing and would be set free. Those who committed worse crimes would be apprehended, but for how long? And when they're free, what would possibly keep them from reverting back to their old ways? The scum you cleaned from the face of society today makes the future shine brighter for all mankind.**

_That doesn't make it right._

**Who's to decide what's "right", Daniel? You? A fourteen-year-old boy with super powers? I think not. The line between right and wrong is not black and white. No, it is much more obscure. **

_But they were people! _

**What is your point? The worst tyrants in human history were people. The beings that populate this town are people. Soylent Green is people, for God's sake! Don't you get it? The humanity of a being does not excuse it from punishment!**

_I'm not the one who is supposed to make that decision!_

**Ah yes, because a gavel-wielding man wearing a powdered wig is much more qualified than you.**

Phantom was silent.

**The path you have chosen is not going to be an easy one, if your experience up to this point has been any indication. You cannot hope to save every sentient being, Daniel. Some of them are going to have to die.**

_It doesn't have to be that way . . ._

**But it is. In eliminating these bounty hunters, you protected this town from total destruction. You saved the lives of those who live here and you ensured that future** **generations would prosper. A few guilty lives in exchange for limitless innocents? Was there really any wrong done?**

"Phantom? That you?"

The ghost boy turned around and saw Jackson standing on the rooftop behind him. Mike was off to his side.

"What are you doing up here, kid?" Mike asked. Neither of the men minded the rain that poured from the sky.

"Guys," Phantom started hesitantly. "I-I did some bad things tonight, didn't I?"

"Whaddya mean bad things?" Jackson inquired. "You led some of America's finest against an army and won!"

"But I killed people!" Phantom argued.

"So did I," Jackson said with a grin. "What's your point?"

"But you guys are-"

"What?" Mike spoke up. "Government agents? Licensed to kill? Adults? This was a state of emergency, Daniel." Phantom looked between the two men helplessly. "Kid, this is never easy for us. Even with ghosts. We have to make decisions like this every day."

"Then why do you do it?"

"'Cause that's the way the world turns, Daniel."

Phantom sighed. "I already killed Valerie's mom, that spy kid, and now a whole bunch of people I don't even know!"

"You're fourteen," Mike said calmly. "You're not supposed to understand these kinds of things yet."

"What I _understand _is that I'm becoming a monster!"

Jackson knelt down next to Phantom and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In a _week_, maybe even less time than that, this town is going to be back to the way it was before this bounty was put on your head. The very day Mayor Foley declares that the state of emergency is over I want you, Danny _Fenton_, to go to the park. Bring your friends, family, I don't care, but I want you there that same day. And then ask yourself if it was wrong; what you did tonight."

Phantom looked at Operative K as he stood back up and tapped a button on his wrist. A helicopter came into view and sped closer to the hotel. Mike stood next to his partner and the two boarded the chopper once it was close enough to the building. Once they were safely aboard, the vehicle took off leaving Phantom alone.

One week? What could possibly happen in one week that would change his mind?

To Be Continued

_A/N: Yay! I think._

_Go to my DeviantArt page for a blog-esque thing. It recaps the events of my week so I don't have to do it here! Remember, its Grumbletron now._

_I think it's important that Danny struggles with the whole morality situation. He's just a kid, and he's already killed people and/or been directly responsible for several deaths. From my experience, most 14-year-olds don't have to deal with things like "was it wrong that I killed a whole bunch of people?" I'm not sure if I did a good job putting it in perspective._

_But I do feel REALLY bad for not having an epic all out brawl in this chapter. I know you were all looking forward to it. So when I finished this chapter, something completely out of the blue smacked me in the face. I saw what I had thought up and it was good. Evening came and morning followed, but I couldn't remember what day it was. There will be the beginnings of a very awesome twist towards the end of this segment. Actually, make that THREE very awesome twists. Think of it as my apology, because I'm on the same page as the rest of you who wanted a super-duper fight. I know how you're feeling. You don't know whether to kill me . . . or kiss me._

_Anyway, there are still a few chapters left in this segment. I think I might actually deviate away from Danny Phantom and focus on some other characters. Danny has a week of contemplation to do and I don't think you want to read about him dwelling on how he's a horrible person for 3 more chapters. _Mad World_ is starting to get to me . . ._

_Reviews are climbing back up to the double digits! YEAH! Thanks to all 960 of you (at the time of this chapter's posting). Special thanks goes to_ Prince of Mu , Hero07, Musicallity, Fulcon, Bloxham, dpphan333, MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, _and_ Silverline Scimitar.

_POSTAL SCRIPT!  
I have a new story up called Phantom Rising. Its a way for me to slaughter every character in the DP universe with kickass fights, foul language, partial nudity, and graphic scenes of violence involving liquid nitrogen and ghost rays. If you can stomach it, go check it out and review it to tell me what you think._

**DECEPTICONS! TRANSOFRM AND RISE UP!**


	81. Augmentation 8

CHAPTER LXXXIX

Agent X watched as the National Guardsmen rolled away in their massive transport vehicles. Tanks were loaded onto even larger transports and followed the human regiments. Fighter jets in the sky performed celebratory aerial acrobatics before heading off to their respective airfields.

It had been several days since the last of the bounty hunter invasion force was driven away from Amity Park. He hated to acknowledge it, but without Phantom and his ghost buddies, the occupation could have gone on a helluva lot longer and with more damage done than just property damage. Fight fire with fire never made sense to the man in a literal sense. The last thing his home state of California needed was the blazing infernos being fought with more fire. But in an abstract sense, it made perfect sense. The only thing known to man that could hurt ghosts were other ghosts. Laser technology was new and glitchy, having a forty-three-point-oh-two percent effectiveness rate. Even if it was ever perfected, it was expensive; almost ludicrously so. In contrast to unstable manmade weapons, there were ghosts willing to combat their own kind. But then again, wasn't Phantom exactly that?

X shook his head and turned from the view screens. The Guard had helped cleanup crews with most of the difficult repairs, not to mention the bodies. With the damaged city mostly restored, construction crews were finishing the job. Amity Park was now in the Guinness Book of World Records for most damage done to a concentrated area. It was soon to be added under record breaking recovery period. The busy metropolis was already starting returning to normal; maybe even taking a turn for the better. Hostile ghost activity had dropped to record lows, even after the arrival of the Fentons. Phantom and Huntress conflicts were almost nonexistent, and the two even seemed to be getting along.

"Sir? You wanted to see us?"

X turned to regard Operatives K and O. The two were equal in height, build, attire, and a plethora of other features that most on the force shared. But something about these two stuck out; something X couldn't help but admire, despite their unsettling fondness for the hybrid.

"I did," the man replied, not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "I compiled your reports and those of several other operatives on the field, including the Box Ghost. It appears we didn't do as thorough a job as we should have."

"How is that, sir?" K asked.

"Three things, gentlemen," X began. "First, we failed to detain one Valerie Grey. Circumstantial evidence clearly points to her as the true identity of the vigilante entity known as The Huntress."

"Affirmative, sir, but Miss Grey was not in her residence when we detained the bounty hunter in her room. The Box Ghost encountered her later on, but was engaged in battle with a second bounty hunter that had occupied her bedroom. He reported that the bounty hunter had been dispatched."

"Yes," X commented, "not without difficulty, I was told."

K and O remained silent.

"Second item on the list; Lydia the Tattoo Ghost. Box Ghost tells me she has a human employer, but he can't confirm an identity. This ghost apparently escaped. Our old pal Skulker was sighted in several locations, apparently hunting her. He was unsuccessful."

X reached down onto his desk and retrieved a folder. "Finally the third, and arguably most disturbing, modicum of gossip I uncovered is this," he handed the folder to Mike, who passed on to K after glancing through it. From their facial expressions, it was not good news. "These bounty hunters were not acting solely out of desire for Phantom's head. As I'm sure you're well aware, one million dollars doesn't amount to much in today's underground and there are plenty of easier ways to get it. Which raises a few questions; predominantly, why on Earth would several hundred men and women risk their very lives on doing the impossible?"

K and O looked at each other, unsure of the answer.

"No guesses? Intel says someone told them to, and it wasn't the guy who posted the bounty."

"One person was giving orders to all those bounty hunters?" Mike inquired.

"One guy," X confirmed. "Commanding idiots, bad shots, thugs, trained assassins, and everyone in between like they were an extension of his own body," X handed another folder to his Operatives. "One efficient machine of organized crime."

"A crime lord?" Jackson asked, reviewing the new information.

"All we've been able to pick out is that he was the brains behind the army. Other than that, we don't have a name, alias, affiliations, anything, other than the knowledge that he exists."

"With all due respect, sir," Jackson spoke up, "why did you bother with this? Other than the bounty hunter mobilization, crime lords are not our field of expertise. This is a job for the feds."

"You're right, K, but in case you've forgotten, we are the feds. And while the Guys in White may not have been established to battle organized crime, we might have a stake in this as well. The bounty hunters were gathered in Amity Park because of Phantom, and Phantom beat them. If this is anything like what we've seen before, Phantom just made the top of this guy's hit list, if he wasn't already there."

"Ok, so what, do we tell the kid that there could be a crime lord in Amity Park that wants his head on a platter?"

"How well do you think that would go over, O?"

"I thought so," Mike replied. "But we can't just leave him in the dark on this one. This is a lot bigger than him."

"I agree," Jackson added. "We'll have to let him know eventually."

X nodded. "But until we know for sure what's happening with this situation, there's no reason to stress the kid out even more. I'll get our analysts on this ASAP. In the mean time, you two need to go keep the peace that we've been having lately. I rather enjoy not having to track and monitor several dozen ghost battles on a daily basis. Dismissed."

Mike saluted his superior, who returned the gesture, spun on his heel and left the room. Jackson remained behind.

"Something else you'd like to say?" X asked once the door had closed behind Operative O.

"Yes sir," Jackson responded. "Permission to speak candidly?"

"Go ahead."

Jackson's posture relaxed as he slid from parade rest. "I'm curious; where did this sudden concern for Phantom's wellbeing come from?"

"Beg pardon?"

"It isn't any of my business why or how you earned your rank at the head of this organization. All I cared to understand was that you hated ghosts with a passion few could match, and Phantom was barely an exception. Then you allowed a ghost to organize a counter offensive against an army we thought were trying to take down the kid."

"What are you getting at?" X asked with a hostile edge in his tone.

"Your behavior just . . . threw me off a little."

X sighed and moved to the view screens at the other end of his expansive office. The images were motivating, to say the least. Amity Park's citizens were some of the most cooperative he had ever seen, and the group support only increased and became strong with each passing disaster.

"These are difficult times, K," Agent X said finally. "I thought I could do this my way; bust into a room, guns blazing, and wipe out every single molecule of ectoplasm from the face of the Earth. That's not an option anymore."

"Well, sir, you are still the head of this organization. If you wanted to authorize that kind of action-"

"It's not that simple, K. You know as well as I do that the only thing we have so far that can actually fight these bastards is more just like them. We're stuck in the mud, and every move we make only drags us in deeper."

"I understand, sir, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices to get the job done."

X turned and glared at Operative K. His eyes bore into the Operative's very soul, even from behind his sunglasses. "Just how much," he said slowly. "Are you willing to sacrifice?"

Jackson shifted in the uncomfortable silence that followed. Agent X waved his arm and Jackson saluted before rushing out of the room.

Alone in the room, Agent X shut off the monitoring station. The security camera in the room shuddered slightly before a low electronic whine wounded from within its casing. A small green bat flew from the device and flapped its way through the air over to the corner. A figure that was not there previously extended a slender green arm and the bat reconnected with the limb, fading away into nothing more than a tattoo.

"Tonight at eleven o'clock there will be a routine inspection of the stasis facility. Proximus must be set free."

"What of the other two?" the cloaked figure whispered in reply.

"Inconsequential. Free them if you wish, it makes little difference."

"My employer does not like to be cheated out of payment," the ghost whispered. "He is unsure if you will hold up to your end of the bargain."

"I would not have paid such a ridiculously large sum of money to him if I didn't plan on making good on my promise. The orb means nothing to me. Your employer is the one who wants it so badly."

Lydia nodded and bowed as she fazed through the wall behind her. Once she was gone, another ghost appeared behind Agent X's shoulder. This one was massive, easily as large as the ninja bounty hunter his Operatives dispatched the night of the invasion. Covered in scraggly black fur and sporting frayed green sweatpants and a hoodie of an identical color and condition, the ghost looked more like a werewolf.

"Follow her," Agent X instructed. "Once she has done as asked, give her this," he handed the lupine ghost a small red orb from within his spotless white jacket.

"Povas si esti konfidi?"

"Can anyone? No, she can't, but this isn't about trust, Wulf. She has a job to do, and so do we."

"Tio tasketo testamenti meti multo senkulpa vivi en dangero. Proximus estas sovaga bruto; li ne testamenti distingi kiel li mortigi."

"He is not Proximus yet," Agent X explained. "There are still several procedures he must undergo before he completes his transformation. Freeing him is our part. Once it is done, we must gamble and hope the die roll in our favor."

"Walker povas helpi nia peni," Wulf offered.

"No, he couldn't. Walker has his own agenda and I'd rather not risk confrontation with a ghost of his caliber. In the meantime, I want you to investigate this alleged crime lord. He could pose a threat to Phantom's continued stability."

"Gi ne testamenti preni multe da al ekbruligi lin foriru je tio punkto."

"All the more reason to make sure he can't get at Daniel," X retorted. "Proximus could become a very powerful tool in fighting the crime lord if he is seen to in a proper fashion. Now leave me. I have a meeting at five thirty and my colleagues can't come in here and see a grizzly bear in a marathon runner's outfit looming over my shoulder."

Wulf growled and tore open a portal to the Ghost Zone. Once he had vanished through to the other side, the tear in the dimensional fabric sealed shut. Agent X sat down in his chair and sighed. His life just wouldn't stop being complicated.

* * *

Danny walked through Amity Park's park, hands burrowed in his pockets and looking downtrodden towards the ground. It had been a week since the incident. Most of the work was done in repairing the city and life was returning to normal. He had talked to Jazz about his fears and guilt. He had allowed Sam and Tucker to reassure him countless times. Somehow, he still couldn't help but feel terrible. It was excusable, seeing as how he had perfectly legitimate reasons for feeling such a way. Not too many fourteen year olds live with murder and no consequences.

Danny continued on his way. Birds chirped in the trees overhead, clouds inched across a beautiful blue sky, doing their best to avoid blocking the warming rays of the bright, dazzling sun. Every so often, a squirrel would bravely dart across the walking path in search of food. Couples sat on benches, basking in the warmth of the afternoon and in the warmth of each other's company. The surface on the pond was still, almost like a mirror. Danny glanced over at his watery reflection as he plodded along, looking at the face of a confused adolescent struggling to make sense of his impossible life. A cascade of ripples distorted the image as a mother swan led her young through the body of water, showing them off for all to see.

The teenager finally answered the call of his tired feet and sat down on an empty bench. Finally looking up from the ground, his eyes took in everything at once. Looking around at what he had been ignoring for what felt like hours, Danny realized that this is what Jackson had been talking about. Such serenity was not easy to come by. This world had plenty to offer, and if it wasn't for his actions a week ago, it wouldn't be here today. A mother pushing her baby in a stroller passed by and the infant, with wide curious eyes, looked up at Danny who couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face, nor did he want to. The baby laughed happily and flapped his arms up and down in delight. That was all the motivation Danny needed to get out of his rut.

_**Curious creatures, these infants are.**_

**Yes, they are quite annoying as well.**

_As far as I'm concerned, they're the best thing I've ever seen in my life._

_**I am glad you've come to terms with what you had to do, Daniel.**_

**Yes. You must remember why you fight.**

_**Those infants, the women and children, the helpless, all of them count on you for protection whether they know it or not. We don't want you to kill–**_

**I do.**

_**-but you will have to learn to do so without trepidation. You must learn to do what needs to be done, however unglamorous it may seem.**_

_I know. But it's a fantastic day right now. I want to enjoy it._

**And you shall.**

_**We are here if you require us.**_

Danny felt his others recede from the forefront of his mind. Looking around once more, the teenager took a deep breath and continued on his way at a brisk pace. The world seemed more significant. And why shouldn't it be? After all, it was there because of him.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Sorry for the delay and the shortness of this chapter. Saturday is my usual writing time, but I was busy with a friend's confirmation that night and didn't get home until late. I fell asleep playing __Rainbow Six Vegas 2__. Kinda embarrassing. Anyway. . ._

_Well I hope I'm setting things up nicely for future events. I felt that Danny needed to realize that, even though he will have to make tough choices, the results will come out in his favor. Now of course, this isn't always going to be the case. But for now, it will be. His others don't want him depressing himself to death anymore than he does, so they're doing their best to support him._

_Next chapter wraps up this segment, and then it's on to what may be the most controversial segment in the whole story. That is, if I decide I have the gall to go through with it. I have an idea that would definitely work without the controversial tidbits, but I can also throw it in there if I want without making it sound tacked on. I'll figure it out. A little hint as to what it would involve; something that would blow the cease-fire Phantom and Huntress have completely out of the water and make her hatred for Phantom so much more personal. Character death? Racial slur? __**ABOMINABLE SNOW MONSTER?!**__ You figure it out._

_Reviews kinda lost the momentum they were gathering. At least it's staying at or above 5 per chapter. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far. Special thanks goes to_ Thunderstorm101, Fulcon, darkbunny92, MissMeliss4251, _and_ darkness over day.

_Is anyone else noticing that, when you load a document, the first couple words are copied and entered on a line above where your document actually starts? That happens to me a lot. And since M Word doesn't have a pagebreak function (or does it?) I use a dash to hold the place of a pagebreak so I can find them easily when I do the final editing on here. Well now the dashes don't show up all the time. I really hope they fix this. It's really annoying._

_Also, Phantom Rising and A DOOMED Alliance have a 1.0 review/chapter ratio. I was hoping for more, but since they aren't as critically acclaimed as this behemoth of a tale, I'll be putting them on hold. This is my #1 writing priority, after all. _

**JAZZ: THE MOST KICKASS MUTHA#A THAT EVER CAME ONLINE**


	82. Augmentation 9

CHAPTER LXXXX

It would be inaccurate to say the GIW headquarters was ever "closed". There were lulls in personnel activity and presence, especially in the ungodly early hours of the morning. But what was lacking in quantity was made up for two fold in quality. Those rather eccentric Agents and Operatives, some who were rumored to have supernatural stamina and senses, patrolled the halls and equipment. A tardigrade couldn't pass through the expansive building undetected. But those infinitesimally small creatures were nowhere near as surreptitious as the scantily clad ghost woman who prowled the hallowed halls.

Like a shadow, Lydia passed by, over, under, and often through any obstacle in her path. Her target soon came in to view. A massive door, colored with the steel gray and bright yellow stripes that usually accompanied some sort of hazardous material, was locked shut from several directions. Lydia furrowed her brow. Sending an invisible bat tattoo scout, she quickly learned that it was shielded from ghosts even more securely than it was from humans. Lydia bit back a growl as footsteps echoed from around the corner. She hovered closer to the wall as a tall man wearing a janitor's uniform came into view. Trailing him were two Guys in White agents.

"I'm really sorry to have to bother you guys this late – er, early," the janitor apologized, "but the boss man wants this place spick-and-span for inspection."

"S'no problem, Frank," one of the Agents replied while stifling a yawn. "Just page us when you're finished in there so we can lockdown."

"Will do," the man, Frank, affirmed as he pulled a key card from the lanyard around his neck.

The two agents did the same and each one went over to a panel that jutted ever so slightly from the wall. Frank held his key in front of the circular protrusion that was located in the center of the door's locking mechanism. Each man held his key up to the black scan screens and waited while the computer system confirmed them. Roughly one second later, a light blue energy barrier flickered and died. A red trip laser system appeared from thin air before dissipating as well. The sounds of heavy machinery reverberated from within the security doors. Crisscrossing bars and a plethora of gears and clasps could be seen moving in conjunction with each other. Finally, with a gentle hiss, the two doors slowly slid away from each other. A transparent white mist billowed from the dark room beyond, which was barely illuminated by dim green lights.

To Lydia's curiosity, the doors stopped their retreat only a fraction of what they were capable of exposing. The result was a gap wide enough for a single person to pass through. Perhaps that was for the best.

"Thanks guys," Frank said as he slid his key back onto its clasp and wheeled his cart full of high tech cleaning supplies inside. "I appreciate it."

"Sure thing. See you in three hours."

The two agents turned and walked away. Frank whistled as he made his way past the huge doors, which were easily three meters thick. Lydia floated silently in behind him. Frank made his way over to the control consoles and began to work. Lydia was almost too stunned to finish her own job; almost too stunned to remain invisible.

Lining the walls were dozens of tanks, all of them identical in height and width. They were filled with a green ectoplasmic substance, which explained the glow that could faintly be seen from outside. But it was what the green liquid surrounded that kept Lydia in place. Each tank held a ghost. Some were familiar, others looked strange, almost otherworldly. The ghosts were held in suspended animation, various tubes and wires could be seen emerging from the noses, mouths, ears and other openings that some of the odder specimens contained. What really captivated the Tattoo Ghost was the energy given off by these prisoners. It was a unified life force, an ectoplasmic reading too strong to be measured in terms of power. Each conscious mind, sentient and non-sentient, was fused together as one, crying out for a common desire; to be free. It was almost overwhelming.

But the ghosts Lydia recognized were ones from myth. She only knew them by pictures or descriptions; horrible creatures of destruction inconceivable to ghost or human kind. Some of those present were even rumored to work for the Pariah Dark himself during his reign of terror. Perhaps there was a good reason why some of them were incarcerated. But it raised the question; how did the humans capture so many of them? Especially the more powerful specimens?

Pushing those thoughts aside, and doing her best to ignore the singular cry for help, Lydia located the ghost her employer had addressed as "Proximus". She had heard of this one's escapades during his human life. Elliot, the eighteen year old had been presumed killed by Phantom when, in actuality, he had been mortally wounded. From what she was able to piece together, the repair process had gone horribly wrong and Elliot had almost died thanks to a swarm of ravenous ghost planarians. Using Phantom's DNA, the GIW had brought him back to life.

But Elliot had never actually died. He was the first living being in existence to have made the transition from human to ghost without having to enter the state of nonbeing first. Somehow, Lydia doubted that he would care about that very much if at all. To his left floated Technus, whose binary body had solidified into a crude humanoid form. To his left was Desiree. The grievous injuries sustained during her battle with Phantom were healed, for the most part. Horrible scars still lined her body, but it did little to detract from her ethereal beauty. Lydia grinned at the memories she shared with her good friend before the dark times began.

Floating over to the genie ghost's cage first, Lydia reached an intangible hand through the Plexiglas and passed it through Desiree's head. The genie ghost's eyes fluttered open, and Lydia pulled her through the cage as her old friend began to pull through.

"Lydia," Desiree whispered, trembling as the Tattoo Ghost held her, "where am I? What has happened?"

"Shh," Lydia looked around to make sure the janitor had not heard. "There is no time. Leave here. You must go-"

Lydia realized that there was nowhere to go. How was she supposed to smuggle three ghosts who could barely float out of this horrible place?

"Eble mi povas esti de helpo?"

Lydia spun around and gasped at the giant monster that loomed over her. She did not understand what the ghost had said, but she heard the word "help" somewhere in his sentence.

"Your aid would be greatly appreciated," Desiree spoke softly. "Please, hurry, I must find my husband."

Wulf nodded and tore a slit through the air to the Ghost Zone. Desire, with help from Lydia, slid through the portal and disappeared.

"Will she be alright in there?" Lydia asked.

Wulf nodded, not bothering to speak to someone who couldn't understand him.

Lydia moved to Technus' tank and removed him, leaving out the gentle touch she had provided to Desiree. Realizing that he was naked, the green ghost covered his private area with an opaque square of binary and dove through the portal without a word. Lydia couldn't help but giggle. Wulf sighed.

Finally, Lydia freed Proximus from his containment. He recovered from the stasis faster than the other two, due in no small part to Phantom's regenerative DNA.

"What is this?" he said in a hushed voice, apparently understanding the situation. "What's going on?"

"We're getting you out of here," Lydia answered. "Go through the portal, quickly!"

Proximus scowled at Lydia. "I don't take orders from you," he growled. "I don't take orders from anyone. Not anymore!"

Wulf stepped from the shadows and bared his teeth, emitting a low, threatening growl. Proximus didn't seem to be affected. He stumbled past Lydia and Wulf and made his way for the door.

Wulf leapt in front of him, blocking Elliot's path. The boy's eyes glowed red and he swung his fist at the giant ghost. Wulf grabbed the fist and held an extended claw up to his face.

"Let go of me!" Proximus shouted. The "E" sound of the last word trailed off in a high-pitched cry, causing Wulf to stagger back, howling and clutching his ears. Lydia was further away, but still felt the pain. She winced as the sonic vibration rattled her skull.

"Hey! What the hell is going on over-"

Lydia wasted no time in sending a snake tattoo at the janitor. It shot from her outstretched hand like a missile, stabbing through his torso and pinning him to a wall like a fly on display at an exhibit.

"Y-you killed him!" Elliot shouted in shock. "You killed that man!"

Lydia summoned the snake tattoo and sent it after the boy. He was blocking her only escape.

"You're not going to kill anyone ever again!" Elliot took a deep breath and let an earsplitting shriek tear out of his mouth.

The cry rose in pitch until Lydia was writhing on the floor, clawing at her bleeding ears, trying to remain conscious. Her snake tattoo disintegrated, but did not reappear on her arm. The tattoo had been erased; permanently. She felt her other tattoos begin to lose stability and cried out in pain. Each tattoo was a part of her, and Proximus was killing those parts.

The sonic wail was abruptly cut off as Wulf dug his claws into Proximus' back, piercing his lungs. With Phantom's regenerative DNA pumping through his veins, it would only delay his continued assault. Wulf seemed to get the hint. He violently yanked his paw from the boy's back and backhanded him across the head. Elliot cart wheeled through the air and slammed into the wall, coming to a rest on the dead body of the janitor.

The lupine specter jogged over to Lydia and gingerly tossed her body over his shoulder. He tore open another portal and leapt through it. Once they were safely in the Ghost Zone with the portal closed behind them, Wulf unslung Lydia from his shoulder.

"Tio devus havi iri pli bona," Wulf muttered.

Lydia cocked an eyebrow at her companion as he absently dug in his hoodie for something. She gasped as he retrieved the red orb her employer had arranged to acquire.

"Tio estas via," A large boulder passed by next to them, "Kaj tio estas mian. Adiau, Lydia."

Wulf flew over to the passing rock and set down on top of it. He waved as the boulder carried him out of sight. Lydia blankly waved back before turning her attention to the orb. Frederick was going to be very pleased.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Delays, delays, delays. What can I say? You got a new chapter, albeit a short one; I got to see Iron Man, which is the best comic book movie adaptation so far. Probably one of my favorite movies too. Go see it. _

_That wraps this segment up. Thank God, too, because I really didn't have an exit strategy… And I found out what's going down next chapter. It hit me in the face like someone splashed me with cold water after I got out of the hot tub with Jessica Alba. If that ever happened, I'd probably kill the person. Seriously, I hate the cold. Federal prison wouldn't mean a thing next to strangling some jackhole for splashing me with cold water after getting out of a hot tub with Jessica Alba. But I digress. You should like the next chapter. I delve into some really controversial crap, but pull it all together for the finale. _

_And the movie Hancock looks really good too. If the trailer is any indication, the Fresh Prince has done it again._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ Fulcon, BBQ Burgler, Thunderstorm101, Jiece18, darkness over day, Silverline Scimitar, MissMeliss4251, darkbunny92, Bubski, _and _Coppa-Cola.

_**I AM IRON MAN!**_


	83. Doomed 1

Doomed

Chapter XCI

A visible wisp of air escaped Danny's mouth as he exhaled and a shiver ran up his spine. Someone shouted very close behind him and the teenager spun around, expecting to see some kind of ghost attack. Thankfully, it was just a very angry human being.

"Oh my **GOD**!" Kwan shouted. "We've been waiting out here for six hours! Will they open the doors already?!"

"I know, dude!" Dash agreed behind him. "And it's so c-cold out here! Why can't they let us inside?!"

"If this isn't as good as they say it is, I'm gonna be _so_ mad," Danny added.

Kwan, Dash, Sam, Tucker, and all of the thirty or so others that heard Danny's blasphemous remark gasped in unison. But instead of Dash, it was Tucker that grabbed Danny by the front of his coat and shook him violently. Danny swore he saw tears…

"Don't even _**JOKE**_ about that!" Tucker cried. "You saw the footage! This is going to be the most fricking extreme MMORPGFPS that _**EVER EXISTED!**_"

"Nay, the most extreme experience in _existence!_" shouted an anonymous person from within the crowd.

"Guys, I swear, this will be more extreme than anything that you can possibly imagine!"

"Better than _**SEX!**_"

"The **DEMO **was better than sex!"

"Why did you bring that mayonnaise here?! What? Oh yeah, _**SO MUCH FREAKING BETTER THAN SEX!**_"

"Since there's probably three of you out of the other two hundred or so that have actually _had_ sex, let's try not to ruin the experience for everyone else, ok?"

Danny, Tucker and a few others laughed at Sam's declaration. While Sam was among the rest of the two hundred who were still "innocent", she was a female and, thusly, had female body parts. None of the others in line dared to challenge her.

"_**BUT THIS GAME IS STILL GOING TO BE SO FRICKING EXTREME!**_" Kwan bellowed.

The crowd erupted in shouts of approval and agreement, each individual trying to shout over the rest about the level of extremeness that DOOMED II: BACK FOR GORE would contain.

Like most others in the line, Danny had reserved and paid off, in full, his copy of the revolutionary videogame. His copy had been held for him since before he was endowed with his ghost powers, as were Sam and Tucker's copies. Was it a bit extraneous to dish out seventy U.S. dollars for a game (one hundred for the Bouncie Studios™ Limited Collector's Edition, which was what Danny had reserved)? Not at all.

The shouts continued to grow louder and louder, dripping with enthusiasm and excitement. A barely audible jingle, however, brought all noise to a standstill. A short, chubby man stuck his head out the door with a nervous grin.

"Uh, hiya folks. Just a bit bad news for you-"

Danny thought the crowd would become a mob and slaughter the man where he stood, but they wanted to hear his bad news before acting out.

"-well it seems that, while you were all shouting, the clock already struck midnight. It's five after, so you can-"

The man didn't bother to finish his sentence as the wave of human bodies surged for the door. Danny grabbed Tucker and Sam's forearms to prevent getting separated as he was almost carried into the Game Pause. Being fifth in line, he managed to retrieve his copy and squeeze through the crowded door. Once outside, he held his copy up and smiled as the crowd before him roared their congratulations, adoration, jealousy, and discontent with the temperature on the very chilly, very early Saturday morning. Danny waited for Sam and Tucker and led them into an alley.

"Alright. I'll drop you guys off as fast as possible," Danny said as he transformed into Phantom using the electroplasmic method. The surge of electricity washed over his body, hiding Danny Fenton within the molecular structure of Phantom; Amity Park's ghostly super hero. "Use the Fenton Phones I gave you the other day so we can all talk to each other while we're making our characters. The second you're done, log on so we can start the co-op campaign. If we play continuously, we'll have it done by tonight."

"Granted that we alternate eating, napping, showering, and bathroom breaks so at least two people are playing at once," Tucker threw in as Phantom tore through the freezing cold sky above Amity Park.

The local Game Pause was on the far side of down town Amity Park from the trio's houses. Phantom flying at top speed on a ridiculously cold night was not making his friend's very happy, especially since they didn't share Phantom's dulled sense of temperature.

"Care to slow down?" Sam hissed through clenched teeth. "Or at least go intangible?"

"Oh, sure thing, Sam," Danny mumbled.

As he turned intangible, he realized a fraction of a second too late that he hadn't made their copies of DOOMED II intangible. The three plastic bags fell through their owners' hands and sped towards the ground.

"NOOOOOOO!!"Phantom cried. He spun around, setting Sam and Tucker on a building as he hurtled down after the three boxes. To his horror, he saw that the winds had spread the boxes too far for him to catch them all. "Why can't I be in three places at once!?"

Suddenly, his sides felt as if they had turned to jello and he found himself looking at the world with three sets of eyes.

"What the-"

"Go for your copy," the Teutonic accented voice of Tempest said coolly as it sped off after Sam's copy of the game.

"We will retrieve the others," Phantom recognized the other voice as belonging Folium, although it was much deeper and menacing than he would have expected.

Deciding that DOOMED II was more important than his doppelganger's voice patterns, Phantom followed the transparent plastic bag that held his overpriced copy of the game and whisked it out of the air just before it could dash upon the roof of a building. He pulled up, barely avoiding another skyscraper, and made for the open skies where his others were waiting for him.

"That went well," Tempest remarked as he examined the contents of Sam's bag.

"Indeed," Folium added. "But maybe next time you could pay more attention to what you're doing?"

"Sorry?" Phantom gaped at his two others in astonishment.

They looked just like him. Even though the voices were tied to his powers somehow, his copies didn't look like advancements on his current body. More like a step in another direction. Tempest's hair was pointed straight up and crackled with electricity. His fingers ended in points, and his eyes glowed a neon blue color. His body was a similar build to Phantom's own; slim and athletic. Folium, on the other hand, was much more muscular. His eyes faintly gave off a dull green glimmer. His hair was even more unruly than Phantom's own, and had only two clawed fingers and a thumb on each hand.

"Yes, you can duplicate yourself," Tempest answered Phantom's question before he could ask it. "As long as we reside in your mind, you can easily make two copies of yourself. We will control those two."

"But we cannot do anything unless it is your will," Folium grumbled. "So do not worry about a sudden spike in the death toll when you are forced to divide your consciousness."

"Wow," Phantom said absently as he looked between the two. "This is so cool!"

"Rain is approaching," Tempest reported, sniffing the air. "two minutes out, and its going to pour. I suggest we merge and get Sam and Tucker home."

"I agree," Folium looked to the sky. "A little rain might do us some good, though."

Phantom placed a hand on each copy's shoulder and focused on absorbing them. The two dissipated into green clouds of ectoplasmic mist and fazed into his body. Phantom grinned triumphantly and sped off for the building where he had dropped Sam and Tucker.

"Here you go, and here you go," he said as he tossed his friends their respective games upon his return. "Sorry about that, but we need to skedaddle. Rain's coming, and we sure don't want to be here when it hits."

Phantom collected his friends into his arms and turned intangible, making sure the games were in the same state of being before taking to the skies.

"I didn't know you could spin off copies of yourself," Tucker commented as they approached the suburbs. "When did you learn that trick?"

"Just now. I had some help from the inside," Phantom answered.

"I see. That explains why they had their own look."

"Yeah. It was sweet. But not nearly as sweet as this game is gonna be," Phantom fazed into Tucker's room and set him down on his bed. "Remember, Fenton Phones!" Phantom shouted before blasting back up through his ceiling.

"That was funny, what you said back at the Game Pause," Phantom said to Sam as raindrops began to fall from the sky.

"I thought so," she answered slyly. "That's why I said it."

"You really think sex is more extreme than DOOMED II?"

"I wouldn't know, now would I?"

"I think you would," Phantom smirked.

"And how, may I ask, would you come to that conclusion?"

"Well there was that one time at your house when your dad made you invite all those snobby prep kids to your pool party, and you snuck off into the back room with whatsisface and-"

"If you finish that sentence, I will kill you," Sam growled.

"Ah-HA! So I'm right!"

"Nothing happened. He tried to kiss me and I slapped him across the face. Didn't you notice that he wasn't there for the rest of the night?"

"No, I was consumed by jealousy and rage. I went ghost and destroyed half the town."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. "This was two months before you even got your powers."

"I know, but I still did it. That's how mad I was."

Sam blushed, but didn't have to worry about Phantom seeing it, since she was intangible.

"Well I'm touched that you would go ghost before actually getting ghost powers because you thought I was doing it with some guy in a closet," she pecked the ghost boy on the cheek. "I really am."

Funny thing about intangibility; you can actually be touched by another person or object that is also intangible. So Sam's friendly kiss was, in actuality, tangible. Quite so, really, because Phantom felt his emotions explode from within his body and the two silver-green rings slid over his body. Danny gasped seeing that he had reverted back to human form and quickly changed back before the two could plummet to their deaths.

"Sorry, sorry!" Phantom apologized. "Power spike."

"Power spike?" Sam asked suspiciously. "I thought you got over losing control. Is something wrong?"

"You kissed me. I'm mid-puberty, overflowing with ectoplasmic testosterone and teen angst, I just discovered a new power, I just got a new game that I've been squealing about for months, and you just kissed me." The two remained silent as Phantom closed in on Sam's house. "I am fine."

"It was a friendly kiss," Sam said defensively. "Besides, you're a fine one to talk."

"Touché," Phantom replied as he entered Sam's room through the wall. "I'll see you online! Don't wait up! Fenton PHONES!"

Sam rolled her eyes as the ghost boy sped through her roof and into the freezing rain that now was drenching the entire town. The Goth girl grabbed a pen from her computer desk and used it to cut through the shrink wrap around the game case since she was too distracted to hunt for scissors. As she opened the case, she thought about the events that had transpired only moments ago. Did she really have that much of an effect on Danny that a kiss on the cheek could short out his powers? Apparently so; it had just happened. She grinned as she began to install the game on her computer. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

* * *

Plasmius stared wide-eyed at the footage that was playing before her; her bad mood already worsening. Her copy of Technus, which had been steadily fading ever since the original was incarcerated, vanished without a trace several evenings before. When rumors of Technus reappearing in the Ghost Zone reached her pointed ears, she knew he had betrayed her. When she heard he had been spotted with Walker, she became infuriated.

But his turncoat nature was something Plasmius had anticipated. She never wanted to become too reliant on the ghost master of technology, so she uploaded his intelligence into her computer systems. Inadvertently, she had succeeded in doing what was strictly science fiction for years; she had created a working, functioning Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps the trick was using an actual intelligence to build upon . . . but whatever the secret was, the hybrid cared very little about it.

Her attention was focused on the three tanks that held strange ghost creatures inside them. The first two were duds; unable to effectively use the technological modifications made to their bodies. As most of their bodily functions were routed into the modifications, the ghosts had quickly perished. The third, however, had taken another approach. Rather than rejecting the technology as its "brothers" had, or allowing its body to run on them, the third specimen absorbed the tech and fused with it.

Plasmius had been delighted, having created the perfect fusion of organic and machine components. Her enthusiasm was boosted when the ghost began exhibiting more abilities based on Phantom's regenerative DNA. This specimen was able to assimilate any kind of matter, even other living creatures, into its biomass.

Plasmius wanted to explore the possibility of Daniel having similar powers, but she never got the chance. As she stared at the three cages, she saw that all three of them were empty. After her Technus AI program had replayed the footage of her only functioning creation absorbing its two dead roommates an escaping via binary cloud, Plasmius could think of only one person it could possibly be heading to.

Daniel Fenton.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I like the weekly updates. Gives me time to think and do other stuff. So there's what Tempest and Folium look like in their duplicate forms. I like how they look in my mind. I think I'll like how they look on paper better once I get around to drawing them. _

_As for DOOMED II: Back for Gore, I wasn't sure if I referenced DOOMED somewhere in my story. And since this is over 200,000 words long contained in 90 chapters, I didn't feel like "skimming through" to see if I did or not. So think of it this way; DOOMED is like Halo. The first one was good, but it didn't really garner a colossal fan base until the second installment. That's why everyone was TOTALLY FREAKING OUT at the midnight release. And I thought about flexing my profanity muscle, but decided not to. Let's just say "fricking" was not the first word that came to my mind. But I digress._

_I hope you Danny/Sam shippers liked the fluff, because it's hardcore Danny/Valerie for the rest of the chapter. Is that foreshadowing a possible future lemon? Think of it this way, I was worried about _something_ being too controversial, wasn't I? So yeah . . . sleep on that. _

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially _Dragonflamecrystal, Fulcon, TPcrazy, darkness over day, Thunderstorm101, darkbunny92, and Coppa-Cola.

_And sorry if this arc's title seems a little tacky, but I think it will make sense in a broader sense later on. At least I hope it will._

**HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!**


	84. Doomed 2

Chapter XCII

What use is a hero if one isn't needed? Amity Park had taken little notice in the absence of Phantom. Probably because there were no ghosts for him to fight. The release of DOOMED II: Back for Gore was not strictly limited to Earth. Copies of the game had been purchased in bulk by anonymous parties. Those parties then returned to the Ghost Zone, bringing the strange ethereal dimension the joys of mindless video games.

Phantom, or Danny Fenton as he was presently, did not know that. If he hadn't been preoccupied, he likely wouldn't have cared. The ghosts were purchasing the games legally, providing business opportunities for unemployed humans and ghouls alike. It was a much more efficient method than simply stealing.

Again, Daniel Fenton's mind was indulged to the point where nothing, not even life itself, mattered as much as his game. It was not a totally preposterous situation . . .

"Tucker, can you see anything?" Ghostboy asked his teammate.

"Negative," Fryer-Tuck replied. His voice was slightly distorted, giving off a subtle metallic echo. "The top of that mountain is clear."

"Sam, get to the peak and plant the explosive. Tucker, cover her," Ghostboy ordered. "I'll cover your six."

"Roger that," Chaos said as she leapt into the air, much farther than what a normal human would be able to jump. Fryer-Tuck's player transformed into a human-sized jet and sped off after his partner.

An explosion threw Ghostboy off his feet and sent him flying into an outcropping of rocks. His health bar diminished by half, and his life support systems showed a total system failure. Spinning around, allowing his cape to swoosh dramatically behind him, Ghostboy saw what had caused the explosion. Large, grotesque pig monsters lumbered along a rocky trail. The lava geysers and erupting volcanoes did little to deter the monsters advance (due in no small part to their programming). Riding atop the blue swine were their cyborg pirate masters. The monsters could easily support a platform that could carry at least four of the pirates with additional room for mounted missile turrets or laser cannons.

It was the lead war beast's missile turret that had nearly killed Ghostboy, and there were still four more projectiles to be fired before the turret had to be reloaded. It was no problem to the very liberal pirates. The four remaining missiles fired simultaneously just as Ghostboy rose to his feet.

"Guys! Give me some good news!" he shouted as he drew his sword from its sheath.

"Charge is set," Chaos reassured him. "But the frigate Tucker said was coming? Turns out it was a dreadnaught. I don't know if the bomb's gonna be enough."

"We were being ambushed when I finally got my long range radar working," Fryer-Tuck argued. "Besides, not even a dreadnaught can take a five megaton dark matter nuke to the belly."

"Let's just hope you're right," Ghostboy sighed as he brought his shield up and focused his energy into it. A green aura expanded from around the metal circle, increasing the shield's protective radius by ten times its original diameter. He dropped to one knee and braced himself for the worst. "Otherwise I'm not gonna be the only one dying."

The four missiles slammed into Ghostboy's shield and exploded in a massive fireball. The shield flickered and died and the force from the blast sent him tumbling away.

"Yeah, you sure died," Fryer-Tuck said sarcastically. "Stand by and move to minimum safe distance; preparing to fire thermal magnetic pulse beam."

The thermal magnetic pulse, or TMP, was Tucker's special weapon. It combined the most devastating effects from an electromagnetic pulse and a thermal detonator. The result often left scorched bones and frayed circuitry littered across a ravaged impact radius. And it did not discriminate between friend and foe, which was why Ghostboy was running as fast as he could to hide behind a large boulder. He saw the red streak of energy leave the top of the mountain impossibly fast. Purple electricity surged through the beam, and Ghostboy's vision turned white as his friend's attack tore into the lead war pig. Wails of pain from the organics and screeching metal from the mechanoids roared for barely a second before being silenced.

"All harmful residual energy has dissipated," Fryer-Tuck reported after several seconds. "That knocked out those guys, but we've got flyers inbound from the north. Looks like they're going to try and pin us between themselves and the dreadnaught. You might want to get up here, Danny. Sam almost has this teleporter ready to go."

Ghostboy peeked out from behind the rock. The carnage before him was incredible, but he was unable to enjoy it for very long. Thanks to the new engines installed in the DOOMED sequel, destructible environments meant _very_ destructible environments. The ground that the enemy forces had been crossing was actually a bridge. It was the only way for land based characters to reach the mountain. Fryer-Tuck's light show had effectively destabilized the land bridge, and it was beginning to crumble away. So Ghostboy did the only logical thing there was to do; he ran.

"What are you doing?" Chaos asked quizzically.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Ghostboy replied bitterly. "I'm trying not to die!"

"At the rate you're going, the bridge's collapse will overtake you before you can get to the mountain," Fryer-Tuck stated.

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Uh, maybe fly?" Chaos offered in an 'are-you-kidding-me?' tone. "You forgot you could fly, didn't you?"

Ghostboy rose into the air just as the bridge crumbled away beneath him. "No, I was just creating some dramatic tension. Work with me, people!"

He landed on the mountain's summit, seeing his friend Chaos had successfully repaired the damaged teleporter that was required to pass on to the next level. However, the next level's difficulty would be determined by the presence of the enemy dreadnaught. Hence the bomb.

"We should be ready to go," Fryer-Tuck announced. His character's head was a large, single lens that had limitless magnification abilities. The lens rotated around, dilating and contracting ever so slightly. "The dreadnaught is getting closer. In about two minutes it's gonna be right on top of us."

Chaos and Ghostboy looked at the mechanical avatar expectantly.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," Ghostboy said. "Just wanted to make sure you finished that sentence is all."

"We wouldn't want you to accidentally pass up an innuendo opportunity," Chaos added.

"Oh, yeah, like how Danny was-"

"Forget it," Ghostboy cut in, "you missed your chance."

"Aw man," Fryer-Tuck mumbled.

Ghostboy saw a dark shape appear on the horizon. "We should get through the teleporter. Now."

Chaos and Fryer-Tuck looked behind them and saw the dark shape coming closer. The two ran past Ghostboy and into the teleporter.

"Come on, Danny!" Sam urged as the dreadnaught began to descend from the clouds. "Let's go!"

"Go on, Sam," Ghostboy said in a heroic voice. "I'll make sure this thing goes down."

"You mean like how Sam-"

"Shut up, Tucker!" Chaos and Ghostboy shouted in unison.

"Go now, Sam, I'll see you on the other side." Chaos retreated back into the teleporter. "Sam! One more thing!" Chaos stuck her head back out. "If I don't make it, I just want you to know something."

"Yeah?"

"I . . . I lied to you. The last level-up only increased my dexterity by +4, not +7."

Chaos sighed and went back into the teleporter for the final time. Ghostboy looked from the swirling purple and yellow orb to the massive space ship that was starting to push through the clouds. Making sure his friends could still hear him, Danny adjusted his vocal chords to give off the deepest tone his still-developing fourteen-year-old voice could muster.

"Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night-"

"That's the Wolf Man," Tucker cut in. "Doesn't really work for your situation."

"Elementary, my dear-"

"Sherlock Holmes," Sam interrupted. "Honestly, will you just get in here? You're going to lose all the upgrades you're holding for Tucker if you die."

"Seriously dude," Tucker sounded much less amused. "Let's go!"

Danny watched as the massive dreadnaught as it finally descended from the hazy sky. It looked like something out of a child's nightmare; like a twisted, horribly evil variant of Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer. Rows of lights flashed along its sides and underbelly. Energy weapons glowed hot, ready to fire with only a moment's notice. The spiked dorsal side of the ship sliced through the clouds like so many sharks swimming toward a dying whale. Ghostboy turned to look at Chaos, who was impatiently waiting for him to enter the teleporter.

"And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty, and beauty stayed his hand," Phantom activated his energy shield. "And from that day forward," he grabbed the bomb from the ground and floated into the sky, "he was as one dead."

"That's King Kong, you fool!" Fryer-Tuck shouted as Ghostboy blasted off, heading straight for the dreadnaught.

Chaos stood still, watching as the avatar of her friend shrank into a tiny speck as he flew off to face his death. "Come on, Tuck. We better get ready to get owned in the next level."

"I can't believe this," Fryer-Tuck said in disbelief. "Does he know how hard I worked to get those upgrades? Does he have any idea? Why did I let him hold them all?!"

Sam rolled her eyes as she guided her character back into the relative safety of the teleporter. Tucker absently followed his friend's movements.

* * *

Ghostboy held his shield out in front of him. He knew that a single blast from one of those energy cannons could vaporize him. But the big ships never used their heavy weapons on individual players. The small hull-mounted automated turrets were the real enemy. They wouldn't eviscerate him in a single blast, but there were at least twenty on the bow. Maybe he would get lucky and slip past them undetected. When all twenty turrets turned to track him, he cursed his bad luck.

The turrets opened fire simultaneously, hammering against his shield at one hundred rounds per second. For each turret. Diverting all available power to his shield, Ghostboy continued on his way. Once he was under the shield's targeting range, he landed on the ship's blackened steel surface and thought through his options. He could replant the bomb here and hope it did enough damage, or make his way back to the engines. It was a sure victory, but the engines were heavily guarded. Deciding to take his chances, Ghostboy reactivated the bomb on the nose of the ship. Hopefully it would do enough damage.

Once the bomb went off, the teleporter deactivated. Seeing 00:60 flash repeatedly on his HUD got him moving. But there was a problem. Flying away from the ship left his rear vulnerable, and he could only hover backwards; not nearly fast enough to outpace the dreadnaught.

A laser bolt caught his attention as it scorched the metal near his feet. The flying targets Fryer-Tuck had spotted earlier would provide adequate cover. Again, hopefully. Taking to the skies once again, Ghostboy headed straight for his airborne adversaries. The mechanical wasps sporting several mounted laser weapons were unaware of his plan. Once he was high enough, the dreadnaught's turrets opened fire. Ghostboy reached the first of the swarm just as the barrage reached him. Wasps exploded on every side, splintering into millions of metal shards and pieces as they were devastated by friendly fire. Ghostboy shoved many of them out of his way with his shield, but most of them were consumed in the laser flak.

Finally, the teleporter at the peak of the mountain appeared. Ghostboy sped for it, but the remaining Wasps now turned to fly with the dreadnaught. The combined fire was doing serious damage. Ghostboy spun around just as his health bar reached critical level.

"All power to shields," Danny commanded confidently. The voice-recognition software translated his words into action, and Ghostboy began to fall from the sky. His shield glowed a brilliant green, almost white color and expanded wide enough to protect his whole body. The combined fire from the Wasps and the dreadnaught forced him backwards as he fell, and rapidly ate away at his energy shield. Ghostboy hit the ground and rolled backwards, but not far enough. He came to a stop several feet away from the teleporter. With his character's low health, it would take longer for him to get up and run. Time, unfortunately, was not on his side. Fryer-Tuck, fortunately, was.

The large rectangular shield deployed in between the hoard of angry hostiles and the teleporter.

"I can keep this up all day, but we have five seconds to get the heck out of here," he stated.

Ghostboy was up off the ground and in the teleporter in two of those seconds. Fryer-Tuck took one more second. The last two seconds were spent making sure everyone was intact. And then there was a deafening roar as the dreadnaught was ripped apart by otherworldly forces and the mountain, which was actually a volcano, violently erupted.

Then, there was the loading screen.

* * *

Walker paced back and forth atop his newly rebuilt prison. After his battle with his father, the structure had suffered considerable damage. With some degree of persuasion, many ghosts eagerly lent a hand, or a tentacle, or some other appendage, to help refurbish the place. But rebuilding his estate was not enough. The island that the prison was built on was moved by Walker himself to the massive chunk of land where Pariah's Keep was located. Walker's island was merged to the expanse of rock at the opposite end of Pariah's castle. It did an adequate job of keeping unwanted visitors out.

Unfortunately, it also did an adequate job of keeping welcome ghosts out as well. Walker had been impatiently waiting for Wulf to return to the prison with his latest employee for over an hour. He was growing irritated.

"Let go of me, you barbarian! I am not some chew toy for you to, er, chew on! I am Technus! Master of-"

"That will be quite enough from both of you," Walker snapped. "Wulf, you do not need to go out of your way to find my loyal servants. They know the price of betrayal."

Wulf growled at Technus before setting him down and leaving the roof.

"I was examining the schematics of the Fenton Ghost Portal before that dog soldier carried me away," Technus complained while rubbing his wrist.

"Did you make any progress?"

"I have successfully constructed an operational prototype. Creating the final model will be simple enough when I have all the equipment I will need. It is your proposed implementation for the portal that may take more time."

"My father was able to generate ghost portals at will to take him anywhere in the Ghost Zone he could imagine," Walker replied. "And he isn't the master of technology."

"If what you've told me is true, then it is probable that your father enlisted my services to aid him in creating a device that could simply give him such power," Technus stated.

"You died long before my father began thinking logically. I know he regretted wiping out over half of all life in the Ghost Zone, you in particular. But he learned the power to travel through dimensions naturally."

Technus took a moment to ponder his employer's statement. "If you have aged as far along as your father did in your own timeline, then shouldn't you have developed this power as well?"

Walker balled his hands into fists. "Another opportunity he cheated me out of. And another crime he will pay for." Technus remained silent and allowed Walker to recollect himself. "Now then, you have news for me?"

"Yes," Technus responded, eager to move off the subject of the seemingly inevitable dark future. "During my monitoring of Plasmius' transactions, I came across some particularly interesting orders she made from several notable security systems and spectral weapon manufacturers. From what I've been able to piece together, she is going to upgrade Casper High School's security and anti-ghost defense systems."

"Is there any particular reason for this sudden interest in the safety of the young humans?" Walker inquired.

"Not for them, for Daniel. Plasmius thinks she has created an Artificial Intelligence system by using my basic programming. By using her "AI", I have been able to monitor her laboratory. Her experimentation with Daniel's DNA has resulted in a techno-organic ghost creature. It has escaped confinement and is heading for Amity Park to search for a power source."

"And she believes the ghost is going after Phantom?"

"It is," Technus confirmed. "The ghost is, essentially, a clone of Daniel. It is a very crude, underdeveloped clone, but a clone nonetheless. It will recognize Phantom as a compatible and virtually limitless power supply and attack him."

Walker rubbed his chin. "Suppose this ghost attacks Daniel. What would happen if it won?"

"The ghost would assimilate Phantom into its own mass and feed off his power until Phantom was completely absorbed. I have run several simulations, and if the ghost is successful, it will restructure its body around Phantom's own and merge with him."

"Will the process kill him?"

"No," Technus ran through several more equations in his head. Red binary streamed across his eyes. "But he will wish it had."

Walker bared his teeth. "No science spawn of Plasmius' is going to deny me the pleasure of slaying my father. Go, bring him here so that I may eliminate him myself before Plasmius' idiocy completes my task."

"How shall I go about this?" Technus asked.

"That is your decision. But choose wisely. Your first mistake will likely be your last."

Technus bowed sagely and flew off towards his own lair. His prototype ghost portal was operational and in need of a test run. With his afterlife on the line, Technus decided to perform the test himself. The portal was supposed to work fine, in theory. It opened up on the outskirts of Amity Park in some remote location. What's the worst that could happen?

After arriving at his lair, activating the proto-portal, running through the safety protocol and procedures, disengaging the locks on the device, and setting a timed shut down sequence of twenty seconds, Technus contorted his form and squeezed through the portal.

Pixilation was nothing new to the ghost master of technology, but he had never merged with the game code of an MMORPGFPS before. The new senses flooding his processor all at once overloaded his mind and Technus blacked out. Twenty seconds passed, and his only way out of the strange new world disappeared.

The ghost portal was a prototype. How could Technus have possibly accounted for the possibility that the opening on Earth would be in a different format? How was he supposed to know that he was going to be thrown smack-dab in the middle of DOOMED II: BACK FOR GORE on the Saturday night after its release?

When he woke, Technus would make the best of his situation and, by very unconventional means, set about accomplishing his master's goal. He was not alone, however, in this game. A lone, red eye watched him from afar. And it was hungry.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Longer chapter, because YOU wanted it! And because a chapter of nothing but Danny playing DOOMED didn't seem like something I'd enjoy reading myself. If you didn't figure it out, Ghostboy is Danny, Fryer-Tuck is Tucker, and Chaos is Sam. They look different, if my description of "Ghostboy" wasn't accurate enough. Fortunately for you, you can see what Computer Danny looks like on my DeviantArt page. HiddenAuthor, when he was still around, was kind enough to color a picture of him. He didn't get it exactly how I envisioned it, but it's hard to color something to a person's exact specifications when they don't tell you what you want. So it's my fault. But go ahead and check them out._

_Oh Em Ge. I almost didn't believe it, but then I did. I have hit 1000 reviews! Huzzah! When I thought about it, I probably should have made the create-a-character contest for the 1000__th__ reviewer instead of the 700__th__, but I do like the Paper Shredder, so it all worked out. _Bitchy Princess _(reviewer #1000), you are phantastic. I'd give you an e-heart, but for some reason the little symbols don't show up on this site. I'll send it in a PM so you can print it out.__ It's going to be worth a lot someday._

_Moving on, there is no DxV lemon. I just wanted to get people excited about stuff. But nobody noticed/didn't care except for, like, two people. So yeah. It gets really DxVish, but not sexually. Or does it?_

_Thanks to all my reviewers (1000!), especially_ MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, Vorago, darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, Coppa-Cola, _and_ Bitchy Princess.

**TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!**


	85. Doomed 3

Chapter XCIII

"Remember, class, your test on _Death of a Salesman_ is tomorrow!" Mr. Lancer announced after he had finished the discussion of the aforementioned play. "It might not be a final, but it will make up forty five percent of your quarter grade," ditching the company line, the paraplegic teacher leaned back in his wheelchair. "I know most of you have been preoccupied, maybe even a little obsessed with DOOMED II. Well so have I, but I manage to make time in my schedule for the important things. You have the whole summer to ruin the hopes and dreams of every little brat online with your leet haxor skills, so finish the year strong with this test. If I have you next year, which I probably will, I promise to go easy on you come late August."

The bell rang and the students filed out of the room, eager to get home. "Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer called out. "A moment?"

Danny looked at Sam and Tucker. "I'll catch up. You guys go ahead."

The teenager walked over to his teacher's desk while his friend's left the room.

"Daniel, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but your grade is rather . . . unsavory."

"Unsavory?"

"Ever since the beginning of the year I've noticed a steady decline in your GPA. It's not just my class, and I'm not the only one who's noticed."

Danny sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry, but my life isn't exactly easy."

"Whose life is?" Lancer countered. "You don't have to apologize to me, Daniel. I know you've heard this time and time again, but the only one you need to apologize to is yourself. Down the road, when you're vying for a spot in the top third of your class' rank, competing for scholarships, applying to colleges and jobs, this year could come back to haunt you."

Danny frowned. "I haven't really thought that far ahead yet, Mr. Lancer."

"You have plenty of time, but all the time in the world won't count for anything if you don't use it wisely."

Danny nodded solemnly.

"I already have this test made up and it's ready to go for tomorrow. Multiple choice questions and an essay-"

"Really?" Danny asked with his eyes full of hope.

"Very specific you-need-to-have-read-the-book-to-know-the-answer multiple choice questions," Lancer added sternly. "And the essay is no present either."

"Oh," Danny looked away with a depressed expression on his face.

"You've managed to stay awake through all my classes that you've stayed the entire time for," commended, trying to brighten the boy's mood. "Being that it is the night before, you should supplement that with FlashNotes or even the Tikipedia article. If you manage to get a grade within the eighty percent range, you will get by this class with a C+."

Danny's eyes shone brightly again. "Really?"

"Really. Now hurry home and study, for Pete's sake!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Lancer!" Danny exclaimed as he bolted from the room. "I won't let you down!"

The teacher watched Danny as he disappeared down the hall. "Don't let yourself down, Daniel."

* * *

Technus had spent all of the Saturday night, the entire 24 hours of the next day and all of the present Monday in DOOMED II: Back for Gore. With each kill, the ghost master of technology fell deeper in love with the game. Every brat and "pro gamer" he utterly annihilated filled him with indescribable glee that could only be expressed through more killing.

Communication with Walker had been established, and the future ghost had often checked in to see what progress had been made. There was almost nothing to report, partially because Technus didn't want to stop playing DOOMED and finish his mission.

"My patience is almost completely gone, Nicolai," the sinister voice announced in his head for the umpteenth time that day. "Why haven't you located my father?"

"I have located him, Walker," Technus replied bitterly.

"Then why is he not dead in my hands?"

"Recall the security system Plasmius is upgrading the school with?"

"I do," Walker growled. "I fail to see how-"

"It was constructed using the AI program modeled on myself. Essentially, I built it."

There was a pause from Walker's end, allowing Technus to concentrate as he pinned a player under his first set of legs and mutilated him with his mandibles.

"You are waiting for it to be installed so you can use the AI programming in the security console to override Plasmius' own precautionary security measures."

"Precisely. At which point I will seal the building with Phantom inside."

"How do you plan on delivering him to me?"

Technus paused. He clicked his mandibles, drenched in pixilated blood, together. "Does that prison of yours have internet access?"

* * *

Clockwork always knew when the Observants were coming. He always knew, always did know, and always would know. He was also able to predict what the topic of conversation would be when they arrived ninety nine point nine percent of the time. The master of time frowned when he realized that this conversation was going to be in the point one percentile.

"Clockwork," the one known as K'rdon stated, "The council-"

"I know what they want," Clockwork replied in a bored tone as he turned to face the two ghosts. "The upcoming incident at Casper High will pave the way for the future they are so desperately trying to avoid."

"What do you plan to do about the situation?" Reginald asked.

"Nothing, as usual," Clockwork grinned at the surprised look in the Observant's eyes. "If you would allow the time stream to continue uninterrupted, you might find the outcome quite satisfactory."

"We already have Walker to deal with," K'rdon said bitterly. "Another of Phantom's-"

"I don't understand why it is such a frightening concept to your species to . . . go with the flow, as the humans say. I promise you, the outcome of this incident will be more beneficial than harmful to all persons involved."

Reginald floated over to Clockwork's massive bookshelf and looked over all the volumes of literature contained within the stone shelves. "The Ghost Writer is still an option for us, Clockwork."

"I know the Ghost Writer, and it would rather wipe your race from existence than to do me any harm," Clockwork snapped. "Do not pretend to hold power over it. The Ghost Writer is as much a sentient being as you or me. Its free will is its greatest power."

Reginald angrily squinted his eye at Clockwork. "By Wednesday in the Human realm, this will be resolved. Although the council hates to admit it, we cannot predict the outcome with the same amount of accuracy as before."

"I am aware of this."

"Then you must be aware of the cause," K'rdon added hopefully.

"I am not," Clockwork polished the orb at the top of his scepter with the corner of his charcoal grey cloak. "I believe whatever power is hampering your own is capable of altering reality; outside my jurisdiction."

"Then it could be only three things," Reginald stated. "The Ghost Writer-"

"Which is in a state of suspended animation in a dimension beyond this one," Clockwork finished. "It is not the Ghost Writer."

"Pariah Dark or the Reality Gauntlet," Reginald continued.

Clockwork floated in silence. "Either of those two are possibilities, but it is impossible to determine which one."

"You must investigate this for us," Reginald pointed to Clockwork.

"I do not know where Pariah's Keep is. His power shields him from my detection, as does the Reality Gauntlet's power."

"Then what do we do?" K'rdon asked.

"We wait," Clockwork said confidently. "After all, we do have all the time in the world."

To Be Continued

_A/N: Too short, I know. I didn't want to have the _**SUPER AWESOME ACTION PACKED STUDY SESSION**_ in this chapter, so I saved it for the next one. I also wanted to set things up for later. Much later._

_It has been a week since this transpired, but if you were reading _Ultimate Danny Phantom _at around 2:05 am on the morning of Sunday, May 18__th__, 2008, then I am eternally thankful to you. Why? Because that was the day _UDP_ reached 100,000 hits (it is currently somewhere over 101,000). So huzzah! Kudos! Bravo! Etcetera! To infinity and beyond!_

_Also, I have written a story based on the song _Iron Man_ by _Black Sabbath_. It's called _**Iron Man**_. (I know, how creative am I, right?). Please go read and review it. It's something I've wanted to do for a while and only now started on. It will probably last for only two more chapters, if that, so then I can devote all my time back to this (and Phantom Rising on bad days). _

_Reviews! 1000s of them! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially_ Fulcon, Thunderstorm101, Bitchy Princess, Jiece18, darkness over day, Bloxham, darkbunny92, Coppa-Cola, MissMeliss4251, _and_ enderverse.

_And, if you haven't, go see Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Diary of the Dead._

**Are you gonna wear the red and blue costume again? 'Cause I kinda like this one better.  
–little kid from Superman: Doomsday**


	86. Doomed 4

Chapter XCIV

"What do you mean you won't help me pass the test?!" Danny shouted angrily as he sat in his room.

Sam and Tucker looked up from the computer and television respectively and cast their friend a quizzical look. He was facing away from them, so his cry of outrage was not aimed in their direction.

_**How many other meanings does the phrase carry with your kind, Daniel?**_

**This is ludicrous! He must pass! You are his only hope!**

"Seriously, he's right! Besides, you _are_ me! Helping me is helping you!"

_**It is not like that at all. I might be tethered to your body and our minds might be fused as one, but I am an independent sentience. And I am using my sentience to choose not to help you cheat.**_

**It is not cheating, you fool! You are part of his mind, as am I! You can retain the information better than he can by himself, and then – **

_**Then what? Spit it back at him when he needs the answer for a question? No, this is not why we are here with him. We were not left behind by Shadow Phantom to help him cheat on tests. I fear our presence; mine more than yours, has diminished Daniel's ability to learn.**_

"How so?"

_**Have you mastered your ability to manipulate your regenerative abilities to help others alone? Have you mastered duplication or teleportation alone? What about electroplasm, or the myriad other powers you have yet to learn such as absorption, shape shifting, sonic attacks, imperviousness to extreme temperatures, manipulation of the elements, cosmic control, even time mastery? You have learned none of these. The first few were only accomplished with our direct interference. **_

"Can I really do all that stuff?"

_**Not as you are, no. You are relying on us too much; you are becoming dependent. We will not be with you forever, Daniel. **_

**Of course we will! There is no way for us to leave here.**

_**If we are not separated, Daniel's mind will eventually collapse from the strain of supporting three consciousnesses. We will all be extinguished. Until that day comes, or a better day where we are able to separate painlessly and without death, you must learn to act without us.**_

Danny sighed. "What've I got to lose?"

_**As it happens, you are immortal for the time being. **_

**There is nothing to lose, everything to gain.**

_**Except, of course, your dignity if you get held back for another year. So please, study and do well. For all our sakes.**_

"Danny?" Tucker asked from his seat on the boy's floor. "You done talking to yourself now?"

"Yeah, sorry Tucker," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "I just needed to clear some things up with Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

"You're gonna be 'Tweedledum' if you don't pass this test," Sam remarked from her seat at Danny's computer. "I pulled up the summary of the book online and I printed out the FlashNotes so I can quiz you when you're done."

"Too bad this wasn't an anatomy test," Tucker began slyly. Danny and Sam sent him glares that could have melted through solid adamantium. Tucker took the looks at face value and cleared his throat nervously. "What? Science is . . . one of my better fields of expertise."

* * *

Technus whooped with amusement as a tank carrying five enemy players exploded after rolling over one of his mines. Through his mandibles, though, his whoops and hollers came out as ferocious screeches and hisses.

For all intents and purposes, Technus was a bug in the system. After several failed attempts to remove him from the game's servers, the crew at Bouncie™ Studios offered a reward of five special variants of armor exclusive to the staff if he could be defeated, as he really wasn't doing much else other that joining random games and slaughtering everyone. No sets of armor had been given out since the "bounty" had been placed on his head.

Technus enjoyed the challenge, as minimal as it was. There was something of a kindred spirit among the other gamers when it came to fighting the ghost master of technology. A tingle ran through his circuitry whenever he saw a Red and a Blue cast aside their lust for each other's flag to stop his rampage. Of course, the alliances were futile, but it was definitely fun to watch.

"Several of my informants have informed me that you are spending almost all your time playing that idiotic game instead of retrieving my father," the voice of Walker said menacingly through his communicator.

"Your informants have not been well informed of my abilities then," Technus replied irritably. "I am constantly watching the progression of the security system upgrade. It could very well be finished by tonight."

Technus' arachnid form climbed up the wall of the base the tank had come from, searching for targets. There were none.

"Interesting," Walker replied finally. "Seems here that they finished an hour ago."

Technus froze; an error that allowed the allied Red and Blue forces to spring their trap. The whole wall Technus had been climbing on exploded with the combined fire of each team's remaining tanks. The black and green spider roared in surprise and anger as he was buried under several tons of virtual rubble.

"I'd like to know who these informants of yours are," Technus growled as he struggled to get out from under the wreckage. "They may be feeding you false information."

"My spies know the penalty of such betrayal."

Technus rolled all eight of his eyes. The action was followed by another explosion, this one a combination of mortar and aerial missile fire. The pile of rubble was set ablaze, and the siege continued. Red and Blue players unloaded their weapons, grenades, special powers, and anything else they could find into the inferno. The ghost sighed.

"Then that would logically mean that my source is incorrect," Technus shot back while he reformatted his body.

"And who would your source be?"

"The security monitors. Every single camera that the school, Plasmius, and you have installed is online right now and I do not see the security equipment operational and ready to go."

Walker's end was silent, a reprieve that Technus was all too thankful for. In the small span of time, the Arachnid body had become something much different. The bulbous abdomen of the spider had thinned and elongated. Two of the eight legs had rotated over the other six and spread out to form wings. The eight eyes had grouped together in one pair and fused, forming compound eyes commonly seen on a dragonfly. Technus roared out again and burst from the rubble once the dust had settled.

"It appears that you are correct." Walker did not offer an apology.

"I usually am when it comes to this sort of thing," Technus replied as he tore into the Red and Blue defenses with his new flying form.

"Contact me, then, when you are inside the system."

"I shall."

"Keep in mind the price of failure, and decide whether or not if it is one you can pay."

Technus fumed silently as he sat atop the remains of the fortress. Dead Red and Blue soldiers littered the ground. Burning, devastated equipment scorched the land. The game had ended, and the players no longer respawned.

The ghost knew that, if he crossed Walker, he wouldn't respawn either. And there was nothing he could do about it. As he headed for yet another game, a lone red eye appeared amidst the carnage. Technus didn't see it, but it saw him. And it was still very hungry.

* * *

Danny moaned and fell back against his bed. "How much longer?" he whined.

"Stop complaining," Sam retorted before throwing a pillow at him. "You need to know this for the test tomorrow!"

"I know it! I'll do fine on the test!"

"You won't if you keep acting like a ten year old."

"Hey, we used to be ten years old," Danny pointed a finger at Sam. "I happen to think I was a mature and very grown up ten year old."

"Who devolved to an immature, whiney, and irresponsible fourteen year old," Sam added. "I know ghost fighting takes its toll on your school work, but you should want to do well regardless!"

"I do want to do well!"

"Then why don't you apply yourself?!"

"Sam, I know you want Danny to be super smart in addition to his super powers to complete your fantasies, but he already has a sister and two wonderful parents that nag him to kingdom come about his school work," Tucker interjected as he read through his copy of _Death of a Salesman_. "Besides, do you think Danny really wants to date a girl who reminds him of his sister or his mom?"

Sam glared at Tucker, but the boy hadn't even looked up from his studying.

"Look, I get the plot," Danny spoke up after several seconds in the uncomfortable silence. "The guy is a businessman in a world slowly losing its need for businessmen. He's disappointed with his sons because they're bums, and he kills himself at the end. See? Easy stuff."

"What's his wife's name?" Sam asked knowingly.

"Uh . . ."

"His sons' names'?"

"Um . . ."

"His brother?"

Silence.

"His boss?"

Nothing.

"Do you even know his name?"

" . . . Wilbur?"

"For God's sake, Danny, you haven't been paying attention at all, have you?"

Danny let himself fall back against his bed again, his face sunken with grief. Sam reached out and grabbed his shirt, pulling him upright. But he refused to sturdy himself and his body fell from the bed and collapsed to the floor.

"If you don't want to pass this test, then fine," Sam stood up abruptly, smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt, and began gathering her things. "Get held back another year! I give up!"

Danny didn't even look up as she stormed from his room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Dude, you are never going to get in her jeans if you keep acting up like that," Tucker muttered as he looked upon the pathetic sprawled form of his best friend. "And she wasn't even wearing jeans tonight."

"Shut it," Danny growled. "Geeze, what is it with you and the sex jokes all the time? I think _you_ have a thing for Sam."

"Please," Tucker scoffed. "I prefer blondes, thank you very much."

"Figures. But really, I don't think I can do this. Santa's little helpers aren't helping me because they don't think I can learn stuff on my own anymore."

Tucker winced. "That's harsh, dude. That's like you turning yourself down for an A+"

"I know!" Danny threw up his arms in exasperation. "But, in a way, they are right. Kinda. I mean, I have been relying on them a lot when I don't need to."

"Like if you had a job, but still mooched off your parents for money and stuff," Tucker said with a nod, understanding his friend's plight.

Danny's hand rested on the FlashNotes Sam had left behind. Certain areas had been highlighted and underlined. Danny grinned and opened the stapled packet. He had a lot to learn.

* * *

Baring his teeth, Wulf advanced toward the man dressed in a rather unusual set of clothes. The man gaped at the hulking bipedal canine and found himself frozen to the ground, unable to move.

"That will be quite enough, Wulf," a disembodied voice said from the shadows.

The lupine specter glanced over at his employer for a moment. With a snarl, he stepped aside and let the oddly dressed man proceed forth.

"I apologize for my bodyguard's behavior," the voice spoke again. "He is particularly good at what he does."

"I'll take your word for it," a faint British accent accompanied the smooth, disarming tone of the man in the odd clothing.

"You have something for me?"

Frederick Issak Showenhower pulled a vial from the folds of his cloak. Inside bubbled a familiar yellowish liquid. "The augmentation formula created by Johnny Thirteen," he said, confirming the voice's belief. "I have managed to work out all the kinks in it. You'll find that it is exactly what you are looking for."

The vial floated into the air, gently tugged from Frederick's grip by an unseen force.

"Excellent," the voice said as the vial disappeared into the darkness. "And now to uphold my end of the bargain."

A box floated forward from the same spot where the vial had disappeared into. Once it came into an arms length of Frederick, it slowly opened and spilled light out into the deathly dark room. Inside, seven gems sat on a cushion.

"Seven?" Frederick asked, slightly confused. "There are only three gems that power the object that I seek."

"And you will find the Gem of Form, the Gem of Life, and the Gem of Fantasy in that box. The Power Gem has not been seen for quite some time, I'm afraid."

"I already possess the Power Gem," Frederick stated with an air of smugness. "It has been an heirloom in my family for generations."

"How wonderful for you," the voice replied with a trace of sarcasm.

"But I say, what are these other three gems?"

A form materialized in front of Frederick. A man who stood nearly as tall as Wulf stepped forth from the shadows. Even in the scarce amounts of light in the room, it was clear that this man was not one to be trifled with.

"The Eye of Cronos, and the Fists of Might and Ability."

Frederick's eyes widened in astonishment. "Beg pardon?"

"The three gems that the titan Cronos created to focus his power over all eternity," the man explained. "They contain even more power than the rocks in your gauntlet."

Frederick grinned at the open box and the gems inside. "I humbly thank you for these additional gifts-"

"Those aren't for you," the taller man snapped. "You are to deliver the Eye and the Fists to a contact of mine deep in the Ghost Zone. You know the one."

Frederick squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Yes, I know him. What can I expect to receive as payment for this additional service?"

"I'm sure the ghost will compensate you for your efforts." The man turned his back on Frederick and faded into the shadows. "The Ghost Zone is familiar territory for you; finding him shouldn't be the problem."

Frederick bowed and turned to leave. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr.-" Frederick paused. "I-I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."

"Hunter," the voice replied, now missing the imposing bulk of the crime lord to stand behind it. The absence only made the voice more eerie. It felt as is the very shadows were speaking.

"As I was saying, it has been a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Hunter. I look forward to working with you in the future."

Frederick exited the room, leaving a pair of glowing green eyes and silence behind.

"Follow him," the voice commanded. "Make sure he doesn't double cross us."

Wulf nodded and disappeared. Now only silence remained.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I hope that was sufficiently long enough for you. There are two references that will eventually play a major role in the story. Find them, if you dare. _

_So how has my life been, you ask? Well how very thoughtful of you to ask! As if . . . But if you are curious, I graduated from High School on Friday. Hooray! Next year, I'm off to college. And by next year, I mean mid-late August. So I have to enjoy what little free time I have left. My graduation party was Sunday, and I had two to attend on Saturday. That's my excuse for not posting this back then. As for why Monday and Tuesday spawned no new chapters, well, that would be Nintendo's fault. I got a Wii. It rocks. 'Nuff said. Wii Fit is really neat, even if it forces you to be painfully aware of your weight problem . . . uh, you know, if you _have _one._

_Coming soon to a Chapter 95 near you! More of the Sam-Danny-Valerie love triangle! More of Walker's diabolical schemes! More of Technus being sneaky and all up in your computer! More of Plasmius being mad! More of Danny sucking at school! And more! __**MOAR! ARGHHHH!!**_

_Reviews! You leave me these comments, these wonderfully positive compliments, these deliciously intriguing speculations, these amazing urges to charge onward to victory, and I sit here, wondering what I did to deserve it all. Then I realize that it wasn't just me, it was you too. All of you. Reviewers, readers, the occasional browsers, everyone. I can't thank you all specifically, but I wish I could._

_Special thanks goes to _darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, Shining Zephyr, MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, Bitchy Princess, _and_ Sparky Phantom.

_Also, go check out my story Iron Man and let me know what you think of it. It's an AU (big surprise) based on the song by Black Sabbath. It is not related to the character from Marvel comics that recently starred in a motion picture and was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. Superbly, I might add._

_And the poll. The Optimus Poll. The one that needs more votes for Animated Prime! Gah! Vote for your favorite Prime to see him fight alongside your friendly neighborhood boy-fused-with-ectoplasm superhero in the Reality Wars!_

**HULK SMASH! – The Hulk**


	87. Doomed 5

Chapter XCV

Mr. Lancer had been a teacher at Casper High for twenty years. His experience had taught him many tricks of the trade that allowed him to develop close bonds with his students. One of those tricks was keeping a straight face and neutral expression while passing back tests. It was also quite useful in poker.

But the paraplegic English teacher almost lost his focus and frowned upon handing Daniel Fenton's paper back. _Almost_. With resolve unmatched by any other mere mortal, Lancer kept his face blank and his eyes forward as he wheeled down the aisle and handed Danny his test. His heart went out to the boy when he heard the disappointed sigh from behind him. It was not uncalled for. A twenty five percent on a test that he needed to get at least an eighty five on was nothing to be cool about.

"From tomorrow until the end of the year," Lancer consulted his desktop calendar upon returning to the front of the room, "which is now a week or so away, we'll be watching movies. You can all bring something in, as long as it's not **R** rated. Mrs. Ishiyama would have a fit."

The bell rang, and the students left the room at their own paces. Danny Fenton and his two friends stayed behind.

"Mr. Lancer," Danny started, "a twenty five?"

"I'm afraid so," the teacher replied sympathetically. "Now I know you've been struggling and we've already talked about this, but did you do any of the studying I recommended?"

Danny furrowed his brow. The Lunch Lady had decided to take a stroll through Amity Park moments after he had sat down to study. But how could he explain that to his teacher? "I guess I'm just not learning it."

Lancer watched the trio. Sam rubbed his shoulder comfortingly and Tucker, while typing away on his PDA, offered his condolences as well. It appeared he was looking for something online that could help his friend.

"Whatever the case may be, I've been instructed to notify your parents-"

"My parents?!" Danny cried.

"His parents?!" Sam and Tucker echoed.

"Yes, your parents. And no, they aren't going to 'kill' you. They sounded quite angry at first, but I was able to talk them down. Your sister helped too."

"Oh man," Danny sighed.

"Mr. Lancer? Is Danny really going to be held back?" Sam asked, fearing that she already knew the answer.

"No."

"No?" all three of the students asked simultaneously.

"No," Lancer confirmed. "I'll explain at Danny's house." Seeing the boy's confused expression, the educator grinned. "I was invited over for dinner."

* * *

"No?" Maddie and Jack Fenton looked from Mr. Lancer to each other and back again.

"No, Danny is not going to be held back." Lancer wiped the edges of his mouth with his napkin and ignored the feeling of paramnesia. "I will administer a make up exam, one I am sure Daniel won't fail."

"You bet he won't fail," Jack cast his son a sideways glance. "I'll sit on him if that's what it takes to get him to pass the makeup test."

Lancer chuckled. From Danny's expression, he guessed that the large man's statement wasn't entirely false. "I had something else in mind. I'd like for Danny to stay after school for two hours every day for the rest of the week. I will be able to tutor him and help prepare him for the test at the end of the week."

"Two hours?" Danny repeated with wide eyes.

"Every day?" Tucker chimed in.

"For the rest of the week?" Sam finished.

Jazz looked at the trio from her seat on the opposite side of the table. "If you think its boring this year, Danny, imagine going through it a second time."

"Danny is not going to get held back," Maddie said sternly, looking from Jazz to her son. "Get this straight, young man, you're a Fenton. Fenton's don't get held back. We get **A**'s. Or, in your father's case, **B **minuses."

"_Solid _**B **minuses," Jack interjected, pointing his fork at the boy.

"You have nothing to worry about," Lancer said calmly. "Danny will pass, I know he's capable. With the extra studying, he'll pass the makeup exam with flying colors."

Danny slouched down in his seat, feeling everyone's eyes focus on him. He felt that his powers weren't the curse he had, it was his secret identity. If everyone knew he was Phantom, no one would have been alarmed if he suddenly disappeared. But it was Danny Fenton sitting at the kitchen table, unable to turn invisible or phase through the floor, because Phantom wasn't there.

_**The human Lancer is correct. You are capable; you just have to apply yourself!**_

**You know, this whole situation could have easily been avoided if you had just aided him in memorizing the book.**

_**You mean if I memorized the book and told him the answers while he was taking the test? **_

**No! Wait . . . yes.**

_**Daniel, we will eventually part ways. If you are dependant on us when that time comes, then you will be unable to function. The mental recovery process will likely deplete the energy needed to use your ghost powers until you are fully human again.**_

_You mean I'm going to lose my powers after you leave?_

_**Not unless you are able to operate without our interference. We enjoy helping you help yourself, but we cannot do it forever. If you are completely dependent on us when we leave, your mind will erase itself from the strain of trying to adapt. Your body, while alive, will be useless. You will be dead.**_

Danny froze as he brought a forkful of salad to his slightly agape mouth. The voices were right. He needed to study, to learn. By passing the test, he could prove to himself that he was not entirely dependent on the voices. He needed to learn how to save his life.

* * *

Technus finally gave up on dominating the world of DOOMED II: Back for Gore after he defeated the best players the game had to offer. An alliance that spanned several continents and consisted of the elite players from around the world gathered together to defeat him. They failed.

Once he realized he could not be defeated, the game quickly grew boring. The ghost traveled through servers, entering individual PCs and laptops and jumping from one to the next until he finally entered the Casper High mainframe. For an educational facility, the electronic systems were quite advanced. Then he remembered that Plasmius owned the building, and the security systems had been installed earlier in the evening.

The master of technology wove himself into the very soul of the machine, becoming its operating system. He rerouted all functions of the building to himself in a smooth, efficient manner. Plasmius would be none the wiser of his presence. After making himself comfortable, Technus ran through the security system's features. DalvTech, as it was called, was the latest and greatest on the market. While the name made little sense to the ghost, the advertisement slogan did. The building was practically alive with machinery. Every window, every door, every vent and desk and tile was somehow connected to the system; connected to Technus. The ghost would have smiled had he a tangible mouth. Walker wanted a trap? He would most surely have one.

* * *

The red eye that had watched Technus for so long finally stopped hunting him. The place it now resided, it was so familiar. The infrastructure of the building, the halls, the rooms, the lockers, they were almost like an old memory trying to resurface. But the organism was unable to recall those memories. Angrily, it continued onward.

Technus was not the only ghost capable of maneuvering through digital space. As he would eventually find out, he was not the best at it either. Unaware of the other presence in the system, Technus went about his business laying the trap for his prey. The red eye watched in fascination as the ghost spun his webs of treachery. Curious, it tapped into Technus' mind to see just what sort of quarry required such elaborate measures to capture.

That's when the organism's primitive mind flooded with images. A boy with dark skin and a red hat. A girl with a pale complexion and a Gothic disposition. A teacher in a chair with wheels. A slender woman with goggles and a large orange man with a winning smile. A tall boy with blonde hair. A girl with olive skin and long, wavy hair. Then the images took a darker turn. A ghost woman surrounded by meat. Another ghost woman with flaming blue hair and fangs. A ghost dragon with an appetite for souls. A knight powered by hatred. A genie with murderous intentions. A girl who turned into shadows. Another shadow, but one that fueled the evil inside others. A boy with a gun and the cries of a motherless daughter. Finally, two glowing red eyes looked right into the organism's essence and a woman laughed.

With a yelp, the organism pulled back from Technus' mind. It knew who it was, or rather, who it was supposed to be. Enraged, the ghost began to weave its own webs within the webs of Technus. Plasmius created it to be her own Phantom. It failed, it was to be terminated. Plasmius brought him into this painful existence of endless hunger. If she wanted Phantom, he would give her Phantom. More Phantom than she could handle.

* * *

The sound of the bell normally would have brought relief to Danny. Instead, it meant two extra hours in the school building. Yesterday had been the first day of his extra studying time. He noted with disappointment that the voices had receded to his subconscious forcing him to study alone. Surprisingly enough, he found that he was able to learn without them.

"_You never stopped being smart," Mr. Lancer had said with a grin when Danny had brought it up. "You just put it on hold."_

And now, three semesters later, Danny was finally taking his brain off hold. Death of a Salesman, however, wouldn't have been his first choice of a book to read to get his mind back in gear. At the end of his first day he realized that the book was rather depressing. This had elicited another grin from Mr. Lancer when Danny had talked about it.

"_Yes, it is rather unsettling," he had said while rubbing his shadow of a beard. "But it is likely to be brought up in your English classes in college. Most of them have it on their required reading lists."_

"_Why this one in particular?" he had asked. "I mean, out of the millions of other books they have to choose from . . ."_

"_I honestly don't know. I never really liked it myself," the teacher confessed. "My grandfather died in an automobile accident just before I started high school, so this book always hit a little too close to home."_

"_Oh. I'm sorry."_

_Lancer had grinned at his student's sympathy. "You know what was in his car when the accident happened?"_

_Danny waited for the answer, but saw that the teacher's gaze was directed at the book he was holding. "This?"_

"_His copy of Death of a Salesman," he had confirmed. "It was on the floor in the back seat under a pile of junk. He obviously wasn't reading it, but still, I think it might have been a bit too coincidental to be a coincident. Life's just funny that way, I guess."_

_**Life isn't going to be too funny for you if you keep reminiscing about the woes of yesterday, Daniel.**_

**STUDY!**

Sufficiently jostled from his reverie, Danny looked back at the questions he was answering. It was a copy of the test he had failed, but he knew he was doing better this time around. After finishing the essay on the back of the test, he stood up and confidently walked all of the three steps to Lancer's desk.

"Finished?" he asked.

"I hope so," Danny replied.

And so Danny stood next to his teacher as the man skimmed through the test, red pen in hand. To Danny's relief, Lancer only used it sparingly to mark just a few answers wrong. The grading process took much longer that he thought it should have, as he was eager to see how he did. Finally, Lancer realigned the pages so the front was facing up on his desk. The red pen came down, curved and crawled across the top corner of the page, and lifted off again. In its wake were two red numbers. They looked like twin vertical infinity signs, which felt like how long it took to go through the grading process. But Danny knew they were not vertical infinity signs. They were eights.

"Eighty eight percent? Eighty eight percent! I got a **B**!"

"Three percentage points higher than you need to pass," Lancer added with a smile. "You did it."

"I did! I knew I could do it!"

_**You did know you could do it. **_

**I knew you could do it before he did.**

_**Silence! You always knew you could, you just never put in the effort needed to actually do.**_

**That's ancient history now. He did it! We're not going to be a freshman again!**

"Thanks Mr. Lancer!"

"Don't thank me quite yet," the teacher said, holding up a hand. "Right now you have two options. You can take this eighty eight percent as your new grade. It will bring your overall grade up substantially. The second option; you can take this as practice. Tomorrow, you will have the two hours to study and as long as you need to take the actual makeup test. If you do better on the one tomorrow, you can keep that grade. If not, you can keep this one."

Danny thought about consulting his others, but stopped. This was the kind of thing they were talking about. He needed to be able to decide for himself; to make important decisions like these alone.

"I'll go with the second one," Danny answered.

"Wonderful," Lancer handed the mock-exam back to the boy. "Same time tomorrow, then?"

"You bet," Danny gathered his things and left the room in a hurry, hoping to catch his friends before he headed home.

Lancer looked out the window as he gathered his own belongings and chuckled as he saw Danny jump for joy outside. Sam and Tucker were following behind him, looking over his test. It was hard to tell from as far back as he was, but Lancer thought he could see smiles on the other two student's faces.

"The joys of teaching," Lancer said to himself as he wheeled out of the room.

* * *

"This is great, dude!" Tucker cheered upon being handed Danny's practice test. "You're gonna do it! No matter what happens now, you're gonna pass!"

"I'm impressed," Sam said after being handed the paper. "It only took you four hours to do what you've been trying to do for weeks." Danny scowled at the girl. "I'm not making fun of you or anything," she quickly added. "It's just that you really turned it around quickly."

"Well I used to get **A**'s all the time," Danny reminded the others as he waked with them to the Nasty Burger. "But you know I've been preoccupied with ghosts and stuff. I haven't really had time to study."

"We'll think of something over the summer," Tucker said as he slipped his PDA back into his pocket. "But now, we celebrate."

"I'm paying," Sam said as the three came in sight of the burger joint.

"Fine by me," Danny replied. "This is the twenty first century, after all."

A shriek, followed by several explosions wiped the cheerful expressions from the trio's faces. A green ghost monster flew up from behind the Nasty Burger, screaming as it fled from the Huntress.

"I better go lend a hand," Danny sighed as he scoured the area for a good place to transform.

"Why? She's got this covered," Sam argued. "Besides, I thought you two hated each other."

"After the whole bounty hunter thing I think we really connected. You know, vigilante-to-vigilante bonding stuff," Danny explained. "I've run into her a few times since then and we just go our separate ways. No fights, no death threats, nothing."

"So she doesn't hate you for killing her mom?" Tucker asked. After receiving matching angry stares from his two friends he quickly corrected himself, "I mean, she doesn't think you killed her mom anymore?"

"I guess not. It feels nice, knowing I'm not in danger of being dissected every time I go ghost," Danny's eyes rested on an alley way nearby. _Perfect_. "Speaking of which . . ."

The boy left his sentence unfinished as he darted off. Sam and Tucker watched as a flash of bright green light shone from the darkness, indicating the transformation from Danny to Phantom was complete. The two looked to the skies as their friend blasted off after Valerie in her ghost hunting gear, leaving them behind.

* * *

"Beautiful day for a ghost hunt, isn't it?" Phantom asked as he flew up alongside the Huntress. "It's a little cloudy, but I can deal."

The Huntress grinned. "Nice to see you too, ghost. Ever catch this one around before?" she asked as she fired several shots off at a ghost that looked like a crayfish with bat wings and two squid tentacles in the place of its tail. And it was ten feet long.

"Can't say I've had the pleasure," Phantom reached for his Fenton Thermos and aimed it at the ghost. The silver lance of light missed as the ghost swerved off course, headed for the forest. Phantom knew that the woods in and around Amity Park grew denser the further away one traveled from the city. "But we better nab this one quick before he gets away."

The two followed the ghost, trying to land hits along its armored carapace. The few shots that made contact either bounced off or simply dissipated. The only noticeable effect was the creature's temper worsening. And the forest was growing larger and larger in the distance.

"Hang on, I'm gonna try something," Phantom told the Huntress as he slowed down a notch. He focused his energy into replicating himself and felt his sides become numb.

"Well done, Daniel," the Teutonic accented Tempest congratulated as he appeared. "You did not even require our assistance to split yourself."

"Less talking, more fighting!" Folium sped off after the ghost.

"Always _'to action!'_ with that one," Tempest rubbed his forehead. "It's maddening."

The two hurried to catch up with the Huntress and Folium, who they saw was engaged in a conversation with the girl.

"So you like fighting ghosts?"

"Yeah," the Huntress looked over at her companion. "Weren't you a bit scrawnier just a few seconds ago?"

"Yes, and I still am," Phantom said, coming up alongside his duplicate.

"There are _two_ of you?" the Huntress asked in shock.

"Three, actually," Tempest corrected, flying into view. "Duplication is one of Daniel's many powers."

"Wait, who? Daniel? Who's Daniel?"

"Uh, that would be me," Phantom replied. "I prefer Danny, though. But just Phantom is fine too."

"How come nobody's ever heard the _Danny _part before?"

"W-well, I, uh, you, the people, never asked." Phantom cleared his throat. "Oh look, there's the ghost thing. Let's get it!"

Folium was already a step ahead of his original copy. The ghost mutant found itself caught in the snares of several vines that had sprung up from the ground. Phantom saw that Folium's fingers were dug into the ground, having elongated and spouted thorns.

Tempest wasted no time in striking from above, hurling electroplasmic bolts down from the heavens. The energy ripped through the ghost, pummeling it against the earth. Phantom, while intrigues by these powers, only hesitated for a moment before charging his fists with ectoplasm. The energy tore from his hands as he thrust his arms forward and blasted the ghost animal from Folium's vines. The creature smacked into a tree, cracking its shell, and slumped to the forest floor.

In a last act of desperation the two tentacles at the end of the animal shot forward, spraying acidic ink at its offenders. The Huntress, not wanting to be upstaged, tilted her board in front of Phantom and deflected the ooze into the ground. A blast from her board-mounted ecto-cannons finished off the creature. Phantom gathered the remains in his thermos and his duplicates returned to his body, fusing back together.

"That's a neat little trick, _Danny_," Valerie said as the last traces of the other two Phantoms disappeared.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, that. Look, about my name-"

"You have some explaining to do?" Valerie finished.

Phantom thought hard about his parent's lectures and talks about ghost behavior. Picking the frequent topic of 'obsession', Phantom concocted an explanation he hoped would placate the Huntress.

"Well, you see, we ghosts are connected to this world by something we knew during our lives. It's kind of like an obsession. But I wasn't, like, killed or anything or died early. I'm just a kid . . . ghost. From the Ghost Zone. And since the first time I came to Earth was from the Fenton's Ghost Portal, and the first person I saw was Danny Fenton, I dunno, I guess I became obsessed with keeping him and his family and friends safe. But then I saw just how much harm my own kind was doing to this town, and I guess I just felt like I needed to do something. And since I owe it all to Danny, I guess I felt like he was part of the reason I'm here. So I took his name to, you know, honor him."

Phantom would have been sweating if his sweat glands worked in his ghostly form. Most of his bodily functions didn't work or were severely slowed in his ghostly form. He felt nervous, but his heart only beat as fast as a normal heart when he was nervous as Phantom.

"That's really . . . something," the Huntress said after a long pause. "I never knew that's how you guys worked."

Phantom pouted. "I'm not a robot, Miss. I'm a man."

"A boy," she corrected.

"Only if you're willing to acknowledge that you're a girl," Phantom countered.

"This," she said, gesturing to herself, "is one hundred percent woman."

"Percent!" Phantom's face drooped. "I completely forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"Wha- oh, well, I gotta go do . . . ghostly things. For a certain percent of the day. In the Ghost Zone." Phantom grew even more nervous under the suspicious gaze the Huntress was giving him. "It's a ghost thing."

"Alright," the Huntress said slowly. "Well you go do that. But hey!" Phantom stopped mid flight and looked back at the girl. "Next time we team up; don't invite Tweedledee and Tweedledum to tag along. I'm starting to like _us_ time."

Phantom grinned and flew off. "Hear that, fellas?" Phantom said as he traveled invisibly through the streets. "She likes _us_ time."

_**Congratulations, Daniel. Valerie and the Huntress both like you. **_

**Humph! She thinks Daniel is a puny little child! Phantom is the one she has fallen for.**

"Speaking of Daniel and Phantom, any reason you decided to go and almost blow my cover?"

_**I did not do so intentionally. **_

**He's so used to calling you 'Daniel' he's forgotten that it ISN'T YOUR NAME IN GHOST MODE!**

_**It is his name in BOTH MODES, YOU SPITEFUL FUNGUS!**_

**Ooh, name calling! I'm trembling! What are you gonna do, rain on me? You're nothing but a pretentious son of a – **

"Guys," Phantom warned. "Cut it out."

_**My apologies. The stupid one is being obnoxious.**_

**The obnoxious one is being stupid.**

"God, I feel like a dad with two undisciplined, insubordinate babies. Can you behave yourselves, please?"

_**I will try.**_

**All things considered, you managed to cover for Einstein Junior's idiocy quite well. **

"You think so?"

**Yes, you did. And we did not even have to assist you.**

_**Of course if we had, you wouldn't have stumbled over your words like a fool.**_

"Thanks," Phantom growled as the Nasty Burger came into view.

_**He means nothing by it, but you could afford to vocalize your thoughts in a more organized and comprehensible manner.**_

**He means 'learn to talk good'.**

_**Learn to talk well, you dolt! You both could benefit from language improvement!**_

**How is DOOMED?**

"I don't know," Phantom grumbled, although he was happy that the subject was changed. "I haven't played it in forever."

_**Three days does not constitute as forever.**_

**Silence, you fool! **

"Ok, talk time is over," Phantom touched down in the empty floor of the Nasty Burger's bathroom and changed back to his human form.

_**Just know that we are here if you ever do need us.**_

**Although we won't be here forever.**

_**And you did an excellent job today without our interference. **_

**We're proud of you. **

Danny Fenton grinned. But the expression was smacked right off his face when he saw what was going on in the Nasty Burger.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I noticed I hadn't exceeded the 10 page mark in quite a while. So I did. And I noticed I hadn't ended a chapter with a good cliffhanger for a while. So I did. I hope this pleased you. In a platonic way, of course._

_Reality Wars is drawing ever closer. Since nobody has tried to beat out Optimus Prime from the 2007 film with another version of the Autobot leader, I figured he would ultimately (no pun intended) win anyway. If you want to try to vote him out of the top spot (by voting for Animated Prime, of course) you still can. The poll will stay up until the end of SEASON 1._

_Want to see the lineup for the ultimate (no puns) crossover? Then head on over to my DeviantArt page by clicking the homepage link on my bio or by searching Grumbletron on DeviantArt. _

_Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, especially _Vorago Atrox, darkbunny92, Thunderstorm101, MissMeliss4251, darkness over day, _and_ inukagome15.

**THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE – Written on money next to the presidents' faces. Can you tell that I'm running out of things to put here?!**


	88. Doomed 6

Chapter XCVI

Danny had gone through his fair share of surprises in his short life. The ones that occurred before his accident paled in comparison to the ones that happened after. But no amount of experience could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him as he exited the restroom of the Nasty Burger. Star's shocked, widened eyes stared into his own.

"Fenton?"

" . . . Whatever your last name is?"

"What the heck are you doing?!"

Danny scowled. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm coming out of the restroom!"

"More like coming out of the _closet_!" Star pointed to the sign on the bathroom door. The pink stick figure stood on the plaque above his head just over the word "WOMEN'S".

Danny paled. "Oh, that. I can explain-"

"That's the second time I caught you in the girl's room, Fenton."

"And I swear it will be the last." Danny glanced around the Nasty Burger, searching for his friends. He spotted them; Sam laughing and Tucker shaking his head. "Where's your crew?"

"Who, Paulina? She's off with Dash or something. I don't know."

Danny felt a pang of jealousy at the explanation. "Oh."

"Yeah, so Tucker invited me to hang out and now I'm trying to go to the bathroom. And you're in the way."

Danny sidestepped, allowing the blonde girl entrance to the women's room. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over to his friend's table.

"Nice one, Danny," Sam joked with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. It could've happened to anyone," Danny retorted.

"How did you not know what one was the guy's room?" Tucker asked.

"I don't know, I just phased through the roof and turned back to my human form. I wasn't really paying attention."

"Big surprise there. So, how was your date with the Huntress?"

Danny grinned. "She says she's starting to like _us _time."

Sam's jaw dropped slightly. "_Us_ time?"

"Yup. I think she's really starting to develop a thing for Phantom."

"Well dude, start dating!" Tucker said excitedly. "It would be like super dating! Then you can go super steady, super make-out, super . . . _you know_, then have a bunch of super babies and have a super family! It's the start of a super life! I can be Super Uncle Tucker!"

"Super _dream on_," Sam mocked as she threw a French fry at him. "Danny isn't that stupid, unless Phantom is."

"Actually, you can call me Danny in both modes," the boy corrected. "Tweedledee almost blew my cover."

"He called you Danny?" Tucker asked concerned.

"Well Daniel, but you know, same difference. So now Valerie thinks I'm Danny Phantom."

"So wait," Sam started irritably, "I suggested we call you that, like, last year and you said no because it would be too obvious. Then Valerie calls you it and suddenly it's the perfect ruse?"

"You've been really moody lately," Tucker jumped in before Danny could fail miserably while trying to defend himself. "Every time another girl comes up in conversation, you go into attack mode."

Sam glared daggers at the boy. "Let me tell you something, Fryer Tuck, I-"

"Sam, come on, relax a little," Danny said calmly. "We're done with school and we have the whole summer ahead of us to do whatever we want. Why are you being so worked up about everything?"

Sam took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't know."

"We've all been stressing out about stuff lately. I mean, me more than you two obviously-"

"What, you think your problems are more stressful because you're part ghost?" Tucker asked accusingly.

Danny frowned. "My son came all the way back from the future to kill me to stop me from destroying the world," he counted on his finger. "The billionaire-president of the school wants to dissect me or make me her son and kill my mom," the second finger went up. "There's about a million other ghosts that want me dead for some reason or another," he threw his hands up in exasperation. "I think I'm allowed to be a little more stressed out than you."

"Touché," Tucker mumbled.

"But come on, Sam," Danny beamed a winning smile at his gal pal. "Where's my fun-loving friend that used to be hate all the right things, not just everything?" Sam rolled her eyes, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face any longer. "Ah HA! There she is. See, Tucker? We didn't lose her. Now pay up."

"Well gosh dang it," Tucker pretended to reach into his wallet.

"That better be compensation for having to fight with Danny for the girl's room again," Star said with a cheerful expression.

The four students laughed and, for the first time in a long time, Danny was truly happy. Surrounded by friendly faces in a friendly place, he felt at peace. But Tempest and Folium knew that what he was experiencing was the calm before the storm. Unfortunately for the teenager, his life would never yield true peace and true happiness.

Not for long, anyway.

* * *

Danny ambled into the cafeteria, stifling a yawn as he slowly and deliberately made his way over to the lunch line. The first three periods had been spent watching boring movies in his classes. Study hall had been a nap period, as it had been for most of the year. Valerie was conspicuously absent, but Danny thought he had heard the unmistakable sound of her banshee board outside the building.

Then came lunch. His favorite period of the day had almost been a chore getting to. Three and a half hours of being awake and doing absolutely nothing was more exhausting than an average day of school. As he plodded through the line, allowing the lunch ladies to pile a smorgasbord of unpalatable foods onto his tray, he noticed that the fatigue was not exclusive to him. The peppiest of peppy students acted normally. The normally sluggish and slow looked like tired zombies.

Danny relented and allowed a yawn to creep out from within his throat. His eyes slowly shut and tears amassed around the ducts. His jaw extended as far as it would go and the low, monotonous tone drifted through the air. Several people next to him followed suit and soon, everyone in the cafeteria was doing it.

"Hey Danny!" Except Sam, who waved to him from their table. Leave it to Sam to be chipper on a day like this.

"Hey Sam," Danny mumbled as he pushed his tray to the end of the table and rested his head in his arms. "How'ya doin?"

"Great! Why is everyone so sleepy?"

"I think the better question," Tucker said sluggishly as he took a seat, "is 'why are you so not sleepy?'"

"I don't know, today just feels like something awesome is gonna happen!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "As if."

"Well you're gonna ace that make up test after school," Sam offered. "That's awesome."

"No, that's _good_; it's _good_ that I'm gonna ace that test. _Awesome_ would be if he gave me a hundred for the quarter without having to do it."

"Awesome would be if Sam-" Danny tried to stare Tucker down, but it came off as a halfhearted gesture, "let us eat our lunch in peace," he finished, unfazed.

Sam pouted. "Not even a joke today?"

"I'm too tired to pick one."

Danny grinned. "Maybe something awesome did happen today."

"Shut it," Tucker mumbled.

Danny stood up and took his lunch over to the garbage, throwing all of it away including the tray. Too tired to care, he plodded out of the cafeteria just as the bell rang. More pointless classes, then two hours after school to save his grade. Danny liked that part, but ghost attacks had been few and far between with the release of DOOMED. He was starting to crave some real action.

* * *

Valerie made her way down the halls of Casper High, weaving through human traffic like she had been doing it all her life. It was the end of the day, and she was doing her best to go against the flow of student bodies. Behind her was the exit, which was where all of the school's populace was headed; all but her. In front of her were classrooms, which was from where all of the school's populace was trying to flee; all but her.

Finally squeezing through the last swells of the crowd, the dark skinned teenager slowed her pace and headed for Mr. Falluca's room. There was a matter of a test she had been absent for to attend to. Her grades had been stable enough throughout the year, dipping ever so slightly when her mother died, but she bounced right back. The kindly teacher had said he would be in his room after school. She just hoped she wasn't too late.

* * *

Sam watched as the hacky sack descended from the air. With cat-like agility, her foot came up to meet the object. She hadn't calculated how fast her foot was traveling, however, and the hacky sack flew out an open window. Tucker looked from the window to his friend with an agitated look.

"Oops," she giggled. "Sorry!"

"You better be," Tucker gestured to the window, "go get it."

"Yeah, ok. I'll get right on that," she tugged at the ends of her skirt. "I'm not climbing out of and back through a window without pants on."

Tucker sighed and walked over to the window. As he steadied himself against the windowsill in preparation of climbing out of the building, a red blaring light winked on above his head. Startled, Tucker fell off the sill and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Tucker!" Sam rushed over to him. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, I'm just dandy!" he snapped sarcastically. "What the heck is that thing?"

"Fire drill?"

"Are you kidding? We aren't worthy of such a high tech warning system." Tucker was already hacking into the school system's mainframe to get his answers. "Well look at what we have here!"

"What? What is it?"

Tucker opened his mouth to reply, but his peripheral vision caught movement on the other side of the room. From the wall, a steel barrier was sliding across the gap left open by the door.

"Later! Go, move!"

Tucker pushed Sam out the doorway and darted from the room himself. Luckily, the steel barrier was moving quite slow. They made it out with time to spare.

"What the heck was that?" Sam looked at the sealed door frame like it might attack.

"Automated security defense system," Tucker scrolled through the data on his PDA. "Designed to protect students and faculty during ghost attacks."

"And we're out in the hallway?" Sam asked.

"Yeah? So?"

"If it was designed to protect us, then shouldn't we be in there?"

Tucker's eyes widened in realization. "Oh . . ."

Sam winced as the blaring siren grew louder. The red flashing lights didn't ease the unsettling feeling in the air. "Can you shut this down?"

"Yeah, gimmie a second . . ." Tucker tapped away at the numerous buttons on his device. In seconds, the alarms shut off.

"Thank you," she sighed in relief. "Come on, we better go find Danny."

Tucker nodded in agreement and the two hurried off. "I just hope he's ok. This system is designed to defend the school against ghosts."

"Well this is Plasmius' school," Sam said bitterly. "I don't think she would risk having her prodigal son zapped by her own system."

"Maybe. Or she had this was installed overnight by ghosts in order to capture him."

"What?"

"Yeah, says right here the company that installed the system is Dalv Co. I dunno what that means, or why Plasmius would bother making a company to shroud her own operations instead of just operating them."

The two ran in silence. Mr. Lancer's room was up one floor and on the opposite end of the building. "I really hope he's ok," Sam whispered.

"I know you do," Tucker teased through gasps for air. "Dang, I really need to get in shape."

"I know you do." Sam smiled. "How is it that the macho man on Team Phantom is as fit as a walrus?"

"I'll have you know that walruses are very-"

"Can it, we're here."

The two stopped right outside Lancer's door. Or rather, Sam stopped outside his door. Tucker stumbled to the end of the hallway and bumped into the wall. His body fell back like a tree and, for the second time in less than ten minutes, he was on the ground.

Sam rolled her eyes and studied the door. "Same thing happened up here," she stated. "Come on, Tucker, get this thing opened!"

"Just gi . . . ve me a se . . . cond; I ne . . . eed to ca . . . tch my bre . . . ath."

Sam leaned against the wall and waited for Tucker to slow his breathing. Finally, he shakily stood to his feet and pulled out his PDA with an even shakier hand.

"Good grief, Tuck, we ran for a minute and a half! You can't honestly be that worn out!"

"You know what? Fu – Oh," Tucker's attention fell completely on his PDA. "That's not good."

"What?"

"I can open all the doors inside the school, but I can't get access the controls to the exits or the windows."

"The windows are sealed shut too?"

"So it seems," Tucker rubbed his chin. "See if Danny can't get out of the room on his own, I need some time to work on our way out."

Sam rolled her eyes and knocked on the door. It felt strange, not like metal should. Instead, it felt smooth. Almost as if it was coated in some kind of –

_**ZAP! **_"Ow!"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mr. Lancer. Just, uh, static shock, that's all."

Sam grinned at the sound of her friend's voice. "Danny, you ok?"

"We're fine," he confirmed. "Get Tucker to work some of his technical hocus pocus on the door."

"He's trying to open our exits. Seems he has free reign over everything but the way out and the windows."

"I think we could be more help to him out there instead of trapped in here," Danny snapped.

Sam glared at Tucker. "Hey geek-wad, would you mind springing our best friend and favorite teacher from jail first?"

Tucker sighed. "Fine. Hang on."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the barrier sealing off Lancer's room retract back into the wall. Danny cautiously poked his head out into the hallway. Confident it was safe, or at least that he wasn't going to be electrocuted again, he took several tentative steps out. Lancer wheeled himself from his room behind the boy.

"_A Tale of Two Cities_, what happened?!" Lancer exclaimed.

"New security system has a bug," Tucker replied. "I'm doing my best to crack the protection around the exits, but the firewalls are strange. Like they're adapting to better defend themselves."

"That can't be good," Danny remarked.

"It's not. Unless Danny Phantom can come in and phase us out of the building-"

"Which would be impossible, I'm afraid," Lancer interrupted. The three students shared horrified expressions, believing the teacher had discovered his secret. Lancer didn't seem to notice. "The security system is designed to be ghost proof. I don't think Phantom's intangibility would help us."

"Oh, yeah, I guess you're right," Danny mumbled, relieved beyond expression that his secret was safe.

"But why did you call him Danny Phantom?" Lancer asked Tucker.

"Oh, well, he kinda feels like he owes Danny a debt of gratitude for freeing him from the Ghost Zone so he can help people," Tucker explained.

"And he took my first name as his to, uh, honor me, or something," Danny finished.

Lancer rubbed his chin. "Fascinating."

"Yeah, it sure is. Now let me see what I can do with this-"

"We should find Bob," Lancer interrupted Tucker, much to the boy's annoyance. "Er, Mr. Falluca. He could probably do something with it from the school's mainframe. You said you can access all the doors inside the building that don't lead to outside?"

"Yeah," Tucker keyed in the biology/math teacher's room number. "I've got it. Let's go, it should be opening right now."

The three students started to sprint down the hall, but remembered their handicapped teacher and slowed. Lancer shot past them, accelerating down the hall faster than the trio thought possible.

"Last one there gets an F on the first test next year!"

Danny, Sam, and Tucker sprinted off after him.

* * *

Technus watched as the ghost boy and his allies worked together to bypass his security lockdown. The boy, Tucker, had enough data on his PDA to expunge the ghost master of technology from the system permanently. But that would only be useful of the boy ever learned of his presence. Hopefully, he would not.

He could easily have denied the boy access to the doors inside the building as effectively as he blocked the exits and windows. But there was something of a kindred spirit he shared with the African American teen. He used technology to solve problems, in this case, ones caused by technology. How ironic.

There was, however, another force at play that allowed Tucker Foley to free his friends and teachers; a desire that had been building up in Technus ever since he had become a DOOMED II phenomenon. Technus wanted a challenge. He no longer was immune to physical attacks, as the Guys in White had solidified his binary form, but he was still virtually unstoppable. And he knew either the techno-geek or the ghost child would prove to be worthy adversaries. If only he knew how worthy. . .

* * *

The organism watched Technus with its red, sinister eye. It had finally sorted through its false memories; the memories of Daniel Fenton. It had angrily come to terms with the truth of its existence. It was a failed experiment, an amorphous conglomeration of cloned flesh and circuitry. But its mind was not feral. There was a sentience inside the clone, but one that only knew hate and vengeance.

But driving that hate, driving that desire for vengeance, was knowledge. During its short stay at Plasmius' Wisconsin castle, it had started out as a monster, looking to consume any and everything as food. Information and data stored on Plasmius' computers was copied over and over in a vain effort to satiate this craving. It failed to deter its hunger, but it was stored in the technological half of its mind. Once it had attained sentience, the information was reviewed. And the creature was disgusted by what it saw.

Plasmius wanted to clone again. The organism had to stop her. The only surefire way to do so would be to kill two birds with one stone. It had to destroy Danny Phantom and use his power to destroy Plasmius. It didn't want to kill its 'father', but what choice did it have? With an inaudible hiss or resentment, the organism finished the intricacies in its plan. One it hoped that Danny Phantom would fall right into.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Show time, people! Take your places! And sorry I ruined a perfectly good cliffhanger. Or, if you liked it, then I'm glad I did my job. Also, I didn't really go back all too often to check over this chapter for spelling mistakes. If you find any, please point them out to me. It makes me less inclined to make the same one again in the future.  
_

_And thus begins a new age; the TEMPORARY and EXPERIMENTAL age of anonymous reviews. Everyone else is doing it, and I thought I'd give it a try.  
_

_Transformers Animated toys hit US stores en masse! To those of you everywhere else who had them already, well, I extend my middle finger to you. Do you know how painful it is waiting for them when the show is almost through with the second season? Probably not. So look out Wal-Mart. I've got a guap of grad money burning a hole in my wallet, and I'm looking to fill my shelves._

_Maybe you will find the allusion to another character in this chapter? He will make an appearance at the end of this segment. After that, it's the _Maternal Instinct_ redux followed by _Control Freaks_ and _Public Enemies_ rolled into one. After that . . . REALITY WARS!_

_I'll have to bring up a concern I have on that before I get to it. It involves length and the Roman Numerals. Until then, enjoy this chapter. Danny and Valerie shippers? Uh, yeah . . . enojy it while it lasts. _

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ Fulcon, inukagome15, MissMeliss4251, Bitchy Princess, Silverline Scimitar, Vorago Atrox, darkbunny92, Shining Zephyr, _and_ Thunderstorm101.

**Oh my God, it's Alfred Molina! – Spider-Man in the Laser Collection (and me in every movie I see him in)**


	89. Doomed 7

Chapter XCVII

Danny and Sam slowed their run to a halt outside Mr. Falluca's door. Mr. Lancer grinned at them. Tucker arrived last, breathing heavily. He stumbled to a stop and slumped against the lockers.

"You . . . can give . . . me . . . whatever . . . grade you . . . want," he slid down against the lockers and curled into a fetal position on the floor. "I . . . just want . . . to live!"

"Fair enough," Lancer chuckled. "But first, can you open this door?"

"I thought he already did," Sam looked at the pathetic form of her friend lying on the ground.

"I must have . . . gotten it confused . . . with another one," Tucker's composure was slowly returning. "Not enough oxygen . . . was flowing to . . . my brain."

His rubbery arms pulled his PDA from his pocket. Shaky fingers tapped on buttons. Amazingly, despite his inability to keep his hands steady, he deactivated the barrier on the correct door.

The steel barrier slid back, revealing the slightly frightened and very confused forms of Valerie Gray and Robert Falluca.

"Would someone mind explaining to me what exactly is going on?" the short, stout man asked as he cautiously exited his room in front of Valerie.

"Something set off a . . . security system I didn't know we had," Tucker explained, standing up.

Mr. Falluca and Valerie gave him curious looks. "Security system?" the teacher asked.

"Yeah. I can open all the sealed doors inside the building," Tucker's composure was almost completely restored. "I can't open any of the exits or the windows."

The math and science teacher remained silent, looking at Tucker's PDA. "Are you hacking into the school's security system?"

"W-well, I mean, hacking is such a strong word to-"

"Never mind," he held up a hand, cutting Tucker off. "Can you access the door sealing off the school's computer lab?"

Tucker's face lit up. "Of course! If I can get into the mainframe, we can shut the whole thing down manually!"

"Exactly," the whole crowd watched as Tucker furiously tapped away on his machine. "Well?"

"Hang on . . ." Tucker's exhaustion from the previous expenditure of energy seemed to have worn off entirely. "Got it; we're in."

Danny, Sam, and Valerie started to run. "Hang on!" Tucker called after them. "Look, the walls aren't closing in on us or anything and it's not like we're missing anything on the outside world. Can we please walk?"

The lead trio exchanged glances, shrugged, and fell back to walk alongside the other three.

"So why aren't you able to open the exits?" Mr. Falluca inquired.

"There's some sort of firewall around its code. I was able to bypass the walls to open the doors inside easily, but the walls for the exits and windows . . ." Tucker trailed off. "It's like they're adapting to better defend themselves against intrusion."

"That's rather peculiar, don't you think?" the teacher asked.

"Yeah, it's almost as if-"

Tucker froze in place. The other five stopped to look at him. Tucker caught Danny's gaze. "As if it's _alive_."

Danny's expression changed to match Tucker's shocked one. "_Technus_," he said softly.

"Ok," Tucker slid his PDA into his pocket and pointed down the hallway. "_Now_ we run."

* * *

Walker slammed a fist down on his desk. It shattered under the force of his blow. The specter rose to his feet, swinging his arms up and sending the two halves of his desk flying into the wall on the other side of his "office". He had been watching the video feed from inside the school, and his father's friend had just discovered Technus' presence.

Daniel had been able to defeat Technus before. He did have some help, but now Technus was no longer untouchable. And if the boy found out that the ghost master of technology was working for his son . . .

"Technus, you imbecile!" Walker growled through his communicator. "You've been found out!"

"A calculated possibility; one I have prepared for," the nasally voice replied from the other end.

Walker snorted in disgust. "Why have you not beaten this game and allowed for me to enter the school through the internet?"

"This game is well defended against modifications that would allow me to simply skip to the end and win. I am close to being done, rest assured."

"I will not rest until my father lies dead at my feet with his blood fresh in my mouth," Walker spat. "And nor will you if you wish to survive!"

"Thank you for that . . ._ insightful_ statement."

"One more remark from you, and I shall eliminate you first."

"And then maybe you can get up off your high horse and come out here to kill him yourself," Technus snapped back. "I have calculated this innumerable times and I cannot ascertain, with the given information, why you simply cannot accomplish this task on your own."

"There would be . . . repercussions if I was to enter the human world."

Technus noted that the hostile edge in his employer's voice was completely gone. Whatever these repercussions were, they were enough to placate even Walker.

"Very well. And do not be put off by this turn of events. I shall see to it that your 'father' is delivered to you."

The communication went dead and Walker sighed. He was unwilling to confide in his employer the true reason why he could not venture into the human realm. The ghost would probably manage to use it as blackmail, and it would make very good blackmail. There was no reason to tell Technus that he couldn't go to Earth . . . because he was already there.

* * *

Tucker lead the pack as he sprinted down the hall, filled with vigor and energy the others had never seen in him before. He didn't even slow as he turned into the computer lab.

"Which one's the main computer?" Tucker asked quickly, quickly searching the available machines.

"Back of the room, in the closet," Mr. Falluca replied.

Tucker jogged to the back of the room, swung open the door, and disappeared into the closet.

"What do the rest of us do?" Valerie asked the teacher. "I love standing around as much as the next girl, but-"

"Head to the library," Tucker called out from the closet. "I've got all the doors open, and I think there's a fire exit in there that wasn't sealed off." The remaining five turned to leave. "I need Danny to stay here, though," Tucker added. "You know, keep me company and whatnot."

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed, playing the part of the irritated best friend well. The teenager headed back into the lab, knowing very well that Tucker was more worried about Technus than his own loneliness. Once the others were out of earshot, Tucker slouched down in his chair and let out a long breath.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked, pulling up a chair himself.

"There's no fire exit in the library," Tucker muttered.

"What? Then why did you send them there?" Danny leaned forward, curious to hear his friend's answer.

"I'm gonna lock them in," Tucker replied.

"What?!" Danny jumped to his feet. "You can't do that!"

"Do you remember the last time we fought Technus?" Tucker stood and faced his friend. "You couldn't touch him! The only way he was even able to be brought down was by the Guys in White, and there isn't too much good they can do us in here."

"So why are you locking the others in the computer lab?" Danny demanded angrily.

"To keep them safe. All I can do is fiddle with computers. If we can't stop Technus, his own security system might keep the others safe."

Danny stared at his friend in contemplation. After what felt like a long time, Danny nodded. "Good call. But how are we supposed to find Technus and get him out of the system?"

Tucker grinned. "I've been working on a few lines of code that should do the trick."

"And I've gotten stronger since the last time we met," Danny said smugly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tucker waved his arm and took his seat. He plugged his PDA into the mainframe and got to work. "You get ready to go ghost if he rears his ugly head. I just sealed the others in the library, so we don't have to worry about them getting in harm's way."

The two boys didn't notice as one of the computers in the lab silently came to life. The monitor glowed a bright green color before a hideous spider head emerged from the glass screen. Its eight eyes scanned the room with thermal vision, seeing a slightly dimmer signature for Danny than for his friend Tucker. With what could only be a smile on his face, Technus opened his mandibles and sent his circuitry webbing out from his mouth.

The cords slithered over, around, and under the objects in the room until they were just within range to ensnare his prey. Moving with machine like precision and swiftness, the cords wrapped around Danny's legs and coiled tightly. With a tug, he fell to the ground.

"What the - !" Danny was whisked from the closet, pulled through the lab by Technus' web. Tucker raced out after him, but froze when he saw the cackling spider head of Technus.

"Spider!" Tucker gasped. "Why did it have to be a spider?!"

Technus' nasally laugh echoed around the lab as Danny was thrown into computers, chairs, desks, and just about anything else that was destructible.

"Technus!" Danny growled.

"Bingo, bubbie!" The techo-specter cackled once more before drawing his head back through the computer screen. The coils began to pull Danny in with them.

"Tuck! Get him out of the system!" Danny transformed into his other self with a flash of electricity. "I'll keep him busy!"

With a final effort to untangle his legs, Phantom's head was thrust through the closet door. His skull smacked off the brick wall just next to the mainframe computer. Tucker saw Phantom's eyes roll back into his head before it slumped against his shoulder. He was unconscious.

The webbing yanked Phantom back through the lab, trashing anything that was left unscathed, or just making a bigger mess out of the already-damaged room, before he was yanked into the computer screen. The monitor flickered for but a moment before it winked off; along with the rest of the school's power grid.

"Well," Tucker whispered as he used his PDA as a flashlight. "That's just prime."

* * *

Phantom felt like his body was being ripped apart molecule by molecule. The pain was overwhelming, but just enough to snap him back into consciousness. Upon his reentry to the land of the living, he realized that was not where he was. A strange landscape greeted his eyes once he was able to open them. Around him stood pillars and statues taller than buildings. Foliage had sprung up from the ground to reclaim the raw materials long after the civilization responsible for harvesting them had vanished.

The ghost boy knew where he was. He spun around to take in more of his surroundings. More pillars and statues and ruins covered in plant life rose to greet him. Phantom looked down at his body and gasped at what he saw; his custom made character from DOOMED II: Back for Gore. He was in a video game.

"I thought for sure the transition would have killed you," Technus said with a tone of relief. "It appears I was wrong."

Phantom rose off the ground, feeling his power course through his avatar form. Turning in mid air to greet his opponent, he was surprised to find Technus in yet a different form. The body of a scorpion held the upper torso of Technus up off the ground. The specter's arms had been reformatted into giant pincers. The massive stinger-tipped tail waved back and forth slowly, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Phantom reached for his sword, grinning as his fingers wrapped around the cold steel of its hilt. He gently slid it from its sheath and held it in front of him with one arm. His other arm brought his shield up in a defensive stance.

"You think you're a match for me in here?" Technus accused with a laugh. "This is my natural environment! I am invincible!"

"You're only as invincible as your natural environment. In case you didn't know, DOOMED has totally destructible environments."

Phantom blasted off the ground, sword held behind him and shield held before him. Technus ducked and allowed his tail to spring forward. The stinger stabbed right through the shield just below Danny's arm. The ghost boy phased his arm through the bindings that held him to the metal disc and somersaulted through the air. He swung his sword, slicing Technus across the face. But the wound was only superficial.

"Your weapons are useless against me!" Technus exclaimed as he scuttled over to where Phantom had landed on the ground. "I will . . ."

Phantom raised an eyebrow from behind his helmet. "You will what?" The ghost boy dodged out of the way as several of Technus' legs stabbed into the ground where he had been standing. "Destroy me?"

"Destroying you is not my intention," Technus admitted as he shuffled back. "I am to capture you and take you to my employer."

It was Phantom's turn to laugh. "What does Plasmius want with me this time? And why did she send you in to capture me in her own school?"

"I am not working for Plasmius," Technus retorted as he shifted his body back into that of a spider. "I am working for a much more powerful ghost."

"Who?"

"That is none of your business, young whippersnapper," Technus barked as he shot web at his prey. Phantom became intangible and allowed the webbing to pass through him.

"C'mon, I think it's my business if he's trying to kill me," Phantom grabbed the stream of web and spun around in circles. Technus cut his web with one of his legs and was sent flying into a pillar. It collapsed on top of him, trapping him underneath.

Phantom flew over to Technus and saw the pillar had done much more damage than he had thought. "Who's after me?" Phantom asked as he floated down on top of the wreckage. "Who?"

"_Technus," _a familiar voice said from somewhere underneath the rubble. _"You are not to reveal my identity to him under any circumstances. I would rather you die first than reveal me to my father."_

Phantom felt his powers flicker momentarily when the realization hit him; Technus was working for Walker.

_**Daniel, focus! Do not let this turn of events distract you from the battle!**_

**Yes! Focus! Let this fuel you! Use it to destroy Technus once and for all!**

_**You must escape. I sense there are . . . others in this game that do not have your best interests at heart.**_

Phantom floated back up off the rubble and began tossing bolts of electroplasm into the ground where Technus was. Each blast was more powerful than the next, and even Technus was unable to ignore the onslaught; it was starting to hurt.

As if a mine had exploded underneath the remains of the toppled pillar, Technus burst from underneath. His spider form was horribly damaged. Several legs were missing. His abdomen was cracked and entire parts of the casing were missing in several places. One of his mandibles was gone, and several of his eyes had broken. Sadly, it did little to make the rampaging Technus any less frightening.

The spider lunged at Phantom, swinging two of its operational legs forward. Phantom back flipped out of the way and sent more electroplasm Technus' way. The bolts ripped clean through the spider's legs and Technus was now completely immobile. He quickly reformatted his body into that of a worm and burrowed underground.

Phantom floated in place, expecting the worm to come up underneath him. Instead, Technus ripped through the ground right in front of him. His mouth, lined with thousands of razor sharp teeth, spewed thousands of tiny coils that sped for Phantom. Once again, the ghost boy found himself at Technus' mercy.

"You have become much stronger," Technus noted in a thunderous tone. "But you are still no match for the likes of me. Even with a tangible form, I can still beat you! Me! Technus ! Master of-"

A strange object sped from behind one of the pillars and slammed into Technus. The giant worm roared in anger as it toppled over. Its coils loosened and Phantom escaped Technus' grasp.

_**Do not engage that other ghost!**_

**He is . . . familiar.**

_**Too familiar. I don't like this . . .**_

Phantom decided to heed his voices' warning, but ventured closer just to have a look. Technus was still lying on the ground. The object that slammed into him was nowhere to be seen, but a large part of Technus' exposed side was torn away, almost as if something ate it.

**BEHIND YOU!**

Phantom spun around just in time to raise an ectoplasmic shield to ward off the offending ghost. The amorphous blob splattered against the green wall. A lone, red eye blinked several times before focusing in on Phantom.

The ghost child was unnerved by the stare. It was so strange, but so similar to . . . his own.

_**This ghost shares almost all of your DNA.**_

"How is that possible? How do you know?"

**It is trying to assimilate you!**

Phantom cried out as he saw the ghost's oozing body creeping up his foot. He fired a blast of energy at the ground and the creature retreated back into its central mass.

"What are you?" Phantom tried communicating.

The blob began to take form, spontaneously molding itself into a replica of Phantom. "Agschhhh bmmmm urgchh clagchhhhhh!" it lifted an arm, forming a fist with the index finger extended. The finger pointed to the "P" symbol on Phantom's chest.

"I don't-"

"Ah mm uhr klahn!"

Phantom looked at the emblem on his chest.

"I am your clone!" the creature cried out a third time through his crudely formed mouth. "I muscht deshtroy Plashmiush! And you are the INSCHTRUMENT of her DEMISHE!"

"How?" Phantom took a step back.

"You and I muscht become ONE!" the clone placed its hands on Phantom's shoulders. "Together we can schtop her evil waysh and prevent more like me from schuffering my fate!"

Phantom felt a pain shoot through his body. The shapeless ghost threw itself into Phantom, covering him with his shapeless body. Phantom felt his body destabilize, then everything went dark.

* * *

"Would you let this happen?" Tempest asked

"Would you allow your body to become food for a clone?" Folium growled.

"You cannot allow yourself to be defeated by this creature!" Tempest exclaimed. "There is still so much left to do!"

"We will not be with you forever, but we are here right now. Let us help you. Separate, we are powerless. Together, we are strong! Together, we can do anything!"

Phantom opened his body to the presence of his others, allowing them to take control.

* * *

The clone felt that something was wrong when Phantom resumed his struggling. The creature had formed itself around Phantom, covering him in a rock hard techno-organic casing. The lone red eye, which had been closed in concentration, snapped open as Phantom broke through the covering around his arm. The other arm broke through, then each of the legs.

The clone wailed in pain as the rest of it shattered. Phantom stumbled forward, grabbing the remaining crust on his head and ripping it apart. The red eye fell behind him, but clasped onto his boot. None the wiser, Phantom's triple-fused body ravaged the entire level of DOOMED. Technus' body was blasted over and over again to make sure he wouldn't be going anywhere soon. The solidified remains of his clone received a similar treatment.

Then, with the force of a black hole, Phantom was yanked from the game and thrown out of a monitor. He skidded across the floor and slammed into a shelf of books.

_Wait . . . books?_ he thought.

"D – uh, Phantom?!" Sam exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you the one who locked us in this place?" Valerie demanded.

"Don't be ridiculous," Phantom snapped as he stood. "I . . ."

_Hey guys? Uh, crisis averted. Can I have my body back?_

_**Of course.**_

**Sorry.**

Phantom felt his others withdraw to their usual residence in his mind and sighed with a grin on his face. Then he saw the confused looks from everyone else in the room.

"Sorry about that . . . but no, I'm not responsible. I just got done beating the ghost that was."

"Really? Then why are we locked in this library?" Mr. Lancer asked. "And why did the power go out?"

"Well I guess that would be Technus' fault; the ghost I fought. He's a technology controlling ghost that . . . well, controls technology."

"Yes, I figured as such," Mr. Falluca mumbled. "Where is Tucker and, er, Daniel?"

"They're still back in the computer lab. I found them first before Technus attacked," Phantom lied. "I think they're safe."

"How did you manage to get into the building?" Valerie asked. "I thought this place was ghost proof when the system was on."

"I guess whoever put it in didn't care to think that a ghost could come up from underground," Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "You might want them to check on that."

"Alright, so is that how we're getting out?"

Phantom looked at Valerie with a blank expression. "Huh?"

"Well if you came in from underground, then couldn't you take us out that way too?"

"Oh, well, you see, there are, uh, certain complications in, um, moving, I guess would be the right word, people underground and I don't-"

Phantom's foot might not have gone into his mouth as it should have, but it did kick up and carry him to the ceiling.

"Are these the repercussions you were talking about?" Mr. Falluca asked in an amused tone. "Or is this an unrelated incident?"

"The second one," Phantom grumbled as he grabbed at his foot. His eyes widened in horror as he recognized the red eye attached to the back of his boot.

His foot jerked down and took him flying through the library. Phantom turned intangible to avoid collateral damage, but the red eye didn't slow any. Instead, it bounced into the walls, trying to flee. Phantom scowled, not enjoying the ride.

"Are you quite finished?" Lancer asked irritably. "I'd rather not waste away in here for the rest of my life."

The red eye suddenly bolted through the floor, taking Phantom with it. The five humans looked at each other and around the room, wondering where he went.

Phantom, screaming in shock, came sailing up from the floor. His foot was not longer tugging him along behind it, so the ghost's face slammed into the wall above the door where the humans were standing.

He pulled himself away from the drywall and turned just in time to see the red eye fly at Valerie, who cried out in surprise as it intangibly flew into her body.

"What the hell?" she pulled up her shirt, but the red dot was nowhere to be seen. "Where did it go?"

Phantom had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Uh, Miss? Would you allow me to turn your body invisible?"

Valerie's jaw dropped slightly. "For what?"

Phantom remained silent, but gestured at her abdominal section. Nodding in an unspoken agreement, Phantom landed just in front of Valerie. He knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on her stomach. He felt her muscles contract at the chilliness of his touch.

"Don't worry," he quietly reassured her. "This will only tingle."

Phantom concentrated on making the space between his hands invisible. At first, he saw nothing. But something moved at the bottom of his window to the inside of the girl and he slid his hands down. And that's when he saw it. The red eye didn't look much like an eye. It was slightly larger, and tendrils had burrowed into Valerie's body.

"Robert," Phantom whispered. "What are we looking at?" He feared he already knew the answer.

The man looked at the glowing, red object inside his student. "It looks like . . ." he trailed off, unsure of how to proceed.

"Like what?" Valerie asked, her voice trembling.

"Like an embryo."

"Y-you mean . . . I'm," Valerie let go of her shirt. Phantom withdrew his arms and took a step back. Valerie placed her hands on her stomach. "I'm . . . _pregnant?!_"

The rest of the group remained silent.

_**You do know what this means, don't you?**_

_It's my fault that this happened! _

**True, but that wasn't his point. This ghost is based off of your DNA. It was in the process of assimilating you when you freed yourself.**

_**That red eye was the ghost's DNA based computer. I was able to analyze it in our brief moment of captivity. In the event of imminent destruction, it is to seek out a new host an impregnate it. The computer will retain all of the original organism's memories, functions, all of it. The rebirthing process will make it stronger as well.**_

_Wait. So what you're saying is that whatever thing is inside Valerie's body –_

**Is yet another one of your offspring.**

_**Valerie is pregnant with your child.**_

To Be Continued

_A/N: That's right. To Be Continued. There's no way I'd leave it at that._

_I beg you to think of who this baby will grow up to be. So far, I don't think there have been any true OCs and Phantom Junior the Second isn't going to start the trend. I want to see if anyone can guess right. If you do, I'll let you know in a PM. Anyway, this is really going to strain the Danny and Valerie relationship, as well as the Phantom and Huntress one. _

_And, in case you didn't know, I have a guide posted called _"Grumbles Guide to Bad DP Fanfiction"_. That has cut into some of my UDP writing time, but I think I'm just about out of material. So go ahead and have a look and let me know what you think of it._

_Something else that might be getting in the way of my writing is my job. I'm now working at _Bob Evans_. Free time is hard to come by, especially to pump out long chapters like these ones. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be working there; maybe until the end of July. I don't think I'll be working every day, but the days I do work will be tiring to say the least._

_I'd like to thank all my reviewers, especially _darkbunny92, inukagome15, Bloxham, Vorago Atrox, darkness over day, Fulcon, and MissMeliss4251.

_Three more chapters until I hit 100! Woo!_

**NEW LOOK, SAME GREAT TASTE – My boxers . . .**


	90. Doomed 8

Chapter XCVII

Sam and Valerie sat at one of the many tables in the library. The two girls talked quietly amongst themselves. Mr. Lancer and Mr. Falluca occupied a different table, well out of earshot of the girls. Phantom sat with them.

"So you're saying that it's your child?" Mr. Falluca asked curiously.

"Shh!" Phantom cast a glance over at the girls, who hadn't heard any of the conversation. "Not so loud!"

"Sorry."

"And no, it's not really my child. I mean, yeah, it kinda is, sorta, like, half of my, well-"

"Do you intend to walk circles around your argument all day?" Lancer interrupted.

"The ghost I fought in the computer was a clone of me created by my . . . arch nemesis," Phantom tip-toed his way around being specific. "It absorbed my DNA before I destroyed it. Or before I _thought_ I destroyed it."

"And, acting out of instinct, it impregnated a suitable host," Falluca nodded in understanding. "But how are you going to remove it?"

"Remove it?" Phantom repeated.

"Yes, remove it. Something like that cannot live inside a human being without repercussions. It is probably some type of parasite."

"Well yeah, ok, but, I mean, let's not just jump to decisions here-"

"Do you _want_ Valerie to go through a full nine month pregnancy term with a ghost baby?" Falluca asked Phantom in an _are-you-serious?_ manner. "We know nothing about ghost reproduction cycles, let alone those of a clone ghost. That embryo could kill her."

"Ok, but if I try to remove it, it could kill her anyway," Phantom countered. "Besides, I don't know how to manipulate technology, and that thing is at least half technological."

"What about that other ghost you said you fought in DOOMED?" Lancer offered. "The master of technology?"

"Well ok, he's probably still in the game somewhere, but it's not like he'd come out of the game to help us."

"Then perhaps you'll just have to go get him," Falluca said with a grin.

"How?" Phantom asked. "The power's-" the lights in the library all winked on at the same time. The computers booted up as well. "-out."

"I guess Tucker must have found out how to activate the backup generator," Falluca remarked.

Phantom opened his mouth to reply, but a cry of pain from Valerie stopped him. Within seconds, everyone was standing around her, unsure of what to do.

"Valerie," Phantom said nervously. "Can you lie on the table? We need to see what's going on."

Valerie muttered something incoherent, but obliged to the ghost's request. Slowly, and with help from everyone else, the girl eventually settled down on the table. Phantom stood next to the table near Valerie's midsection. The girl lifted up her shirt again to expose her abdomen and Phantom laid his hands on her stomach.

Skin, muscle, and everything else that made up Valerie's stomach vanished from sight. Once again, Phantom had a clear view at the red circle, but he instantly knew something was wrong.

_It was getting bigger._

"Oh man," he whispered. "Oh man . . ."

The two teachers moved closer to have a better look. Sam stayed near Valerie's head to provide support, although she was curious as to what had the men so wound up.

"It's taking root," Phantom said loud enough for everyone to hear. "It's intertwining the life support functions with Valerie's heart, lungs, everything."

"Why would a ghost need that much sustenance?" Falluca pondered.

"I don't want to wait long enough to find out," Mr. Lancer wheeled his chair away from the table. He turned to Mr. Falluca. "How much smaller would you say that is than a human embryo?"

"Hard to tell, since I'm not a medical doctor," Falluca stated. "But I do remember my anatomy classes from high school."

"How?" Phantom asked, interested.

"Photographic memory," the man grinned and tapped the side of his head. "I'd say this ghost is about equal in size to a human fetus during the third month of pregnancy."

"How can it be growing that quickly?" Valerie demanded angrily.

"It's a ghost, we're complicated," Phantom replied.

Valerie glared daggers at Phantom, but the ghost turned away. "I don't think we have any other choice but to find Technus," he sighed. "Most of the ghost's parasitic qualities are technological, and he would know how to remove at least that part."

"What about the organic half?" Falluca asked.

Phantom looked at Valerie's stomach. His hands were still resting on it. He felt the rhythmic rise and fall of her belly with each breath she took. But it was different somehow. She was breathing for two people, living for two people. One of those people was his child. Unlike Walker, Phantom felt a strange feeling whenever he got close to the embryo; like a bond. Phantom grinned at the thought, but almost gasped when he felt positive emotions flowing from his link with his unborn offspring, fueled by his own. His child, his son, that little red circle was really his son.

Finally, Phantom looked up. "I'll think of something."

* * *

Technus groaned as he rolled over. A spike of pain shot through his head, and the ghost winced as he brought a hand up to the affected area. Then he noticed that he was no longer in a combat form.

"What in the world?" the ghost stood to his feet and surveyed the area.

The destructible environment really lived up to its name. The entire level had been ravaged during his scuffle with Phantom. That was the very least of his problems. Technus tapped into the game's code and gasped in horror.

However long he had been unconscious had been long enough for the masterminds at Bouncie™ Studios to trap his unique code in the game. He was unable to escape on his own. The ghost pulled up data on the fifteen players that were about to appear on the map; they were the top fifteen DOOMED players in the world. Without any technology to construct a new combat form, the ghost was in for quite an uncomfortable experience.

"You _virus!_"

Technus turned his head just in time for it to be smashed by Phantom's fist. He flew across the map, slamming into the remains of a pillar.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"What _I've_ done?" Technus sneered. "_You_ defeated _me_, and that isn't enough for you?"

"I didn't defeat you," the ghost flew up to Technus' prone form. "My clone did."

"Ah, I see that you two have met," Technus smirked.

That was a mistake that he learned never to make again. A blast of electroplasm tore into his body, destabilizing his molecular structure. Technus cried out in pain as Phantom's sure of energy coursed through his body.

"Oh we met, alright," Phantom ceased his attack. "And then it got to meet my ex girlfriend!" Phantom blasted Technus again, this time with raw energy. Without his constantly intangible binary state to protect him, Technus took the full force of this attack too. "And guess how it introduced itself?"

"Itimpregnatedher!" Technus blurted out as Phantom's second assault ended. "I know! I analyzed it when I discovered it in the system!"

"And you didn't stop it?"

"My orders were to capture you and take you to Walker, not to engage your clone!"

Phantom growled and grabbed Technus by the neck. He hoisted him up in midair, bringing him face-to-helmet. "Let's get this straight; Walker doesn't care about you, or anyone else. He wants me dead. If that means going through you to do it, then he will without batting an eyelash."

"I am painfully aware of that, thank you," Technus spat. "But the alternative was to perish without having the chance to save myself; not a very logical choice."

"No, it isn't." Phantom spun around and threw Technus into the ground. "Walker might be my son from the future, but maybe he's more like me now than I realized. If you don't want me to end you right now, you're going to help me with something."

"Why would I-" Phantom sped at the ground and launched his fist into Technus' stomach. Blood and spittle flew from his mouth as the air was forced from his lungs. Phantom slammed his MJOLNIR armored boot down on the techno ghost's neck.

"Because I can think of many more creative ways to mutilate your still conscious body," Phantom finished in a deathly cold voice. "You've worked for Plasmius too, so you must know about the voices in my head. I have three minds, and all of them want you dead. So, die here or die by Walker's hand. Choose."

"What do you want me to do?" Technus asked through strangled gasps for air that he technically didn't need.

"The ghost embryo is half technological. That's the part that is merging with Valerie's body. This thing is going to kill her unless you get rid of his technologic parts."

Technus grinned. "_His_? Your _son_? You want me to abort your unborn _son_?"

Phantom bared his teeth behind his ancient Spartan helmet. "This is your fault in the first place! You could have killed my clone, and then I could have beaten you myself. But instead, you decided to let it go!"

"How would your approval ratings fare if the citizens of Amity Park realized that you wish to destroy life instead of saving it?" Technus asked sadistically. "Ghost, machine, unborn, or all three, it is still your child."

"All I want you to do is to remove the machine," Phantom replied quietly. "I can deal with the unborn and ghost part."

"Oh? You can? I wasn't aware that one of your many powers was delivering newborn ghost infants."

"And what would you suggest I do?"

"The ghost embryo will grow at an accelerated rate. In one hour, I can remove all the technological material from your spawn. It will still grow much faster than a normal human, but I can intangibly remove it from Miss Gray's body before she is forced to give birth."

"Why can't I do that?"

"You've never done it before."

"And you have?"

Technus grinned. "I delivered Penelope Spectra in a similar manner. I believe this procedure is similar to the cesarean section process human females undergo for certain pregnancies." Phantom removed his boot from Technus' neck and the ghost righted himself. "Now then, before we are blasted all the way to holy hell and back by the greatest DOOMED players in the world, we should vacate the premises."

Phantom grabbed Technus by the shoulder and concentrated. The two winked out of existence just as the strike force arrived.

* * *

Phantom re-emerged from the computer screen, this time with Technus in tow. The two ghosts landed on the floor silently. Technus zeroed in on Phantom's child and made his way over to Valerie.

"W-who are you?" the girl stammered. "Get away from me!"

"I do not have time for this nonsense!" Technus cried out as he stopped. "You want this creature removed from your body, do you not?"

Valerie looked to Sam for approval. The Goth girl nodded, and Valerie looked back to Technus, mimicking the gesture.

"Uh, everyone?" Phantom spoke up. "This is Technus; ghost master of technology. Technus, that is Valerie. The girl sitting next to her is Sam." He turned and gestured to the teachers. "This is Mr. Falluca and Mr. Lancer."

"I'm delighted beyond words to make your acquaintances," Technus mumbled sarcastically as he continued on his way over to Valerie. Phantom quickly fell into step behind him. "I can promise you that this will not hurt you in the slightest," Technus glumly informed Valerie. "You will feel uncomfortable, but I believe it is safe to surmise that you do not wish to carry out this pregnancy."

"You, uh, need me to do anything?" Phantom offered.

Technus looked up. "Keep her abdomen invisible and intangible." He looked at Sam. "You, go find some form of towel or cloth. Preferably more than one."

"How? The rest of the doors are sealed shut," Sam replied.

Technus blinked. "They're open now. Hurry!"

Sam rushed out of the room, muttering something about stupid ghosts under her breath.

"You two," Technus ordered Lancer and Falluca without looking at them. "Go find something constructive to do. I need to be left as alone as possible."

The teachers exchanged confused looks, but obliged to the specter's request. Within moments, they were gone.

"This ghost's implantation process in incredibly complex," Technus remarked as he slowly began to work his magic. "I doubt it was created this way specifically."

"Created? What do you mean?" Valerie asked.

"The ghost that impregnated you is a clone," Technus replied with a smirked. "It was fused with several technological components to sustain its form. I believe it used the technology to evolve according to its own desire."

"And it evolved specifically to impregnate me?" Valerie growled.

"No, no, that's not it at all," Technus explained condescendingly. "This ghost evolved to grow more powerful than the ghost it was cloned from. The only way this could be achieved is through . . . _natural_ conception and birth."

"And who is the ghost it was cloned from?"

Phantom glared at Technus. "You mean he didn't tell you?" the techno-ghost said in false-shock.

Valerie looked from Phantom to Technus. "Tell me what?"

"Don't," Phantom murmured.

"Why, the clone is a copy of Phantom!" Technus revealed with a grin. "It shares almost one hundred percent of his DNA!"

Valerie's mouth hung open in shock. ". . . You!"

"This isn't my fault!" Phantom exclaimed. "How could you possibly think to blame me for this?"

Valerie moved her jaw, trying to say something. So many thoughts clouded her mind that she was unable to organize them into coherent speech. Instead, she settled for giving Phantom a death glare.

"Look, I'm sorry that this happened to you, but it wasn't my fault."

Technus chuckled. "Not his fault?" he looked at Valerie. "He practically impregnated you himself!"

"Ok, even if that was true, how would you even know that?" Phantom shouted.

"I am removing your son's computer memory systems," Technus replied. "I can see everything that he has seen. You basically brought him right to this young female."

Phantom found himself unable to think of anything to say. So he stood there, his hands resting uncomfortably on Valerie's stomach while Technus removed the life-threatening technology from her body. Not even his voices could think of anything to say.

Technus, meanwhile, could have said a lot more. He decided, however, that he had ruined Phantom's image in the girl's eyes enough already. He was much more focused on the technology inside the girl's body. Plasmius never came up short on the matter of machinery, and the systems fused with the ghost were incredible. So incredible, in fact, that the ghost master of all things flashing and beeping couldn't help but reformat all the tiny particles of technology into nanobots.

The tiny machines were then intangibly inserted into Valerie's blood stream. He wasn't entirely sure what he would use them for in the future, but several ideas came to mind. He filed them away for later analysis before diverting all his attention to the task at hand; namely, removing the ghost infant.

"Where is that scary girl?" Technus barked. "I require those towels!"

"I got 'em right here!" Sam darted into the room, holding several bundles of towels in her hands.

Technus held out his hand and received the cloths from the girl as she unceremoniously threw one at his open palm.

"More willing cooperation on your part will ensure the survival of Phantom's offspring," Technus scolded. His eyes never left the task at hand as he prepared to remove the child from the girl's body.

"His what?!" Sam looked at Phantom in astonishment.

Technus ignored her and carefully wrapped a hand around the now-squirming baby. He lifted it from Valerie's body and set it into the unfolded towel. The ghost quickly wrapped the child's body in the cloth and handed it to Sam, who instinctively cradled it in her arms. The ghost then made sure to check for anything else the parasite may have left behind. Satisfied that Valerie's body was back to normal, with the exception of his nanobots, he nodded to Phantom, who removed his hands from Valerie's stomach. The girl hurriedly tugged her top down over her midsection and hopped off the table.

"Another successful delivery," Technus sighed.

Valerie and Sam were looking at Phantom's son in fascination. It stared back at them with its curious oval shaped eyes. The red glow in them was not sinister as with so many other ghosts. The baby's eyes glowed a friendly, playful, curious red as it looked from one female to another.

"I'd say he likes both of you," Phantom spoke up, hoping to relieve the tension.

The baby heard his father's voice and twisted around, unconstrained by human or ghostly breaking points. His eyes widened and a happy gurgling noise sounded from the infant. It had no visible mouth. The only physical features it had were its eyes and hands, which had only three fingers. The child oozed out of the towel and floated through the air to its father.

"That's a very interesting power," Technus remarked. "He doesn't seem to have any consistency to his form. It is likely that he inherited it from you."

"Shape shifting?" Phantom asked as the snow-white ghost wrapped around his arm.

"Its amorphous state will make that power even easier," Technus noted in fascination. Then, with a malicious grin on his face, "Not that you'll ever get to see him master it."

Phantom looked up in confusion as Technus blasted him with electroplasm. The ghost boy tumbled into the wall of the library; his son fell to the floor and began to cry. Technus swooped in, wrapping the infant in the folds of his cape, and cackled victoriously as he vanished into cyberspace. Every computer in the school exploded once he was gone.

"**NO!**" Phantom shouted, flying over to the monitor. "_**NO!**_"

Phantom felt the fear and terror radiating from his son. He so desperately wanted to find him, to save him, but Technus covered his tracks surprisingly well. Tucker stumbled into the library with the two teachers, holding his smoking PDA in his hand.

"Dude!" Tucker asked in awe as he saw the carnage in the library. "What happened?"

Phantom sighed and looked away. His bond with his son grew weaker and weaker, but the sense of fear never changed. His son was still scared even as the bond diminished completely. He had failed another child, and he hadn't even had a chance do try to do things right.

Phantom rose up off the floor and ascended through the ceiling, leaving four very confused and concerned humans behind and one distraught, very angry human as well.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Things get all wrapped up next chapter. Maybe now you can guess who the baby is? I'll name _him_ next chapter, for those of you who still don't know._

_I was surprised how many of you thought it was Danni. I understand where someone would get that idea, but I was still surprised that so many people guessed it. Sorry if you were looking forward to it. And I guess I should also apologize for snatching little Phantom Junior the Second away from his daddy like that. But don't worry, he'll find a suitable guardian soon enough._

_So yeah. I guess all I have to do to get a lot of reviews is make people get pregnant. Next chapter, Sam gets preggers with twins; Youngblood and Danni! No, no, I'm kidding. Youngblood won't surprise many, although I think it will be a welcome change. And Danni . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ Shining Zephyr, Cyber-Porygon, Vorago Atrox, Belthasar, inukagome15, Amras Felagund, MissMeliss4251, Kyuubikitsune9, Fulcon, darkbunny92, Silverline Scimitar, darkness over day, _and_ Billy D.

Billy D. _is my friend in real life. We've been in school together since second grade. Treat him with the same respect you would show a Roman god. _

**THAT'S NOT YOUR HONEY, YELLOW JACK! – Honey Nut Cheerios commercial.**


	91. Doomed 9

Chapter XCIX

"You know, for as long as you've been able to fly, I don't think you've ever taken us up here," Tucker said in a matter-of-fact way.

"For as long as I've been able to fly, I've been trying not to get killed by everyone _else_ who can fly," Phantom replied from his perch at the edge of Terror Tower.

"Well at least nobody's trying to kill you now," Sam said as she cast Tucker a warning glance.

Tucker rolled his eyes, but took the hint. "So . . ."

"Look, you guys don't have to beat around the bush," Phantom resigned. "I'm going to need to talk to someone about it eventually."

"How do you figure?" Sam asked.

"Jazz and Mr. Falluca have a buddy system going on. He tells her anything she wants to know about me and visa versa," Phantom sighed. "So she'd eventually find out and badger me until I cracked. At least this way, I'll be able to know what I'm going to say before I make a fool of myself."

"Well ok," Tucker cleared his throat. "This is the second ghost kid you've fathered. At least that we know of, anyway."

Phantom cringed at the thought of more of his offspring flying around somewhere without a father.

"Look, we don't know what you want us to say," Sam admitted. "Just tell us what you're thinking and, you know, we'll go from there."

Phantom nodded. "Walker really scared me. He still does, to be honest. Not because he's insane and super strong and stuff, but because he was my son. I couldn't begin to imagine what kind of monster I had to be in the future to make him hate me so much."

The ghost floated up off his ledge and turned to face his friends, sitting on the roof with them.

"And after I fought him the first time, I thought to myself: If I ever have kids, I'm going to make sure I'm a good father to them. I'm not going to let them turn into another Walker. And, it wasn't like I wanted this clone . . . _crisis_ to happen, but it did. There wasn't anything I could have done to reverse it, so I thought, you know, it's kinda early, but what the heck? I can get a jump start on being a good dad."

"But dude, you're only fourteen," Tucker said. "I mean, sure, some kids our age have to deal with this stuff, but you shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself."

"You know, I don't think I've seen you really, truly happy since you got your powers," Sam said, straying from the topic.

"Huh?" Danny looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"You've been worried about your parents finding out your secret, then you had to deal with the other crap like Spectra, Plasmius, Valerie, the Turpetrator, Walker, now your other kid, I mean," Sam threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I'm supposed to be the gloomy one here!"

"You know, despite the fact that her logic is selfish, she does have a point," Tucker said with a grin. "You have so much stuff to worry about and you're letting it drag you down."

"How am I supposed to _not_ let it get to me? I mean, ok," Phantom held an arm up to stop Sam from jutting in. "I do worry about a lot of stuff I can't do anything about, and you're right; it isn't doing me any good. From now on, I'll try to, I dunno, not care as much or something."

"That's the spirit!" Tucker cheered. "Who says you can't be a typical teenager and a super hero at the same time?"

"But," Phantom looked from Tucker to Sam to the roof he was sitting on. "I can't just forget about . . . my _son_. I felt something between us, like a bond. I could feel when he was happy when I held him and I could feel when he was scared when Technus . . ." he trailed off. "The other stuff isn't going to bother me from now on, but I can't just let him go that easily."

Sam patted her friend's knee. "We'll find him, Danny," she reassured him.

"Yeah, think about it; he's _your_ kid," Tucker said with a grin. "He'll find his way out of a jam if he's anything like his old man."

Phantom chuckled. "Thanks Tuck. I sure hope so."

"Look, we'll give you some time to think," Sam gestured to the door that led down into the hotel. "We'll head home. Call if you need anything, ok?"

"Sure." Phantom nodded and waved as his two friends disappeared down the stairwell.

_**I'm sorry, Daniel, we were unable to reestablish the bond with your son.**_

**We did our best.**

_**It just wasn't enough.**_

_I figured as much._

_**Again, we apologize.**_

_You guys don't have to. It's not like you did anything wrong._

**But we will make things right at the earliest convenience. **

_If you even think you might be able to get him back, _Phantom sighed and rubbed his eye,_ you do whatever it takes._

**Perhaps you should ensure that his mother doesn't attempt to slay you first.**

Phantom looked to the sky and saw Valerie headed at him; much faster than what he figured was safe. But Valerie had become quite experienced at maneuvering her Banshee Board through the skies over Amity Park. With catlike grace, she leapt from the board just as it passed over Phantom's head. She landed in front of him as her vehicle sped away.

The two looked at each other for what felt like an eternity. Phantom wanted to squirm under her expressionless gaze, but his others calmed him; physically, anyway.

"Look," he started. "I'm not even going to try to relate to what you had to go through yesterday. I have no idea what you went through, and I guess it was partially my fault-"

"You _guess_ it was _partially_ your fault?" Valerie hissed.

Phantom's others kept his outward appearance calm and dignified. Phantom himself wanted nothing more than to break down and apologize in a bubbling heap of pity and tears.

"I know you have no idea what it was like, but I'll try to put it in perspective for you," the Huntress sneered. "Imagine you just got over the death of your mother, and the person you held accountable for so long was starting to look like a good guy. But then, out of the blue, that person does something that has absolutely nothing to do with you and before you know what happened, you're forced to bring his baby into a world you don't even understand yourself."

"Now hold on," Phantom said in defense. "You think I wanted to get you pregnant? I had _just_ gotten over the fact that I even played a _part_ in your mother's death when we started being, if nothing else, neutral. And then_ this_ happens," Phantom waved his arms off to the side. "And you think that you're the only one who suffered?"

Valerie took a step closer and grabbed Phantom by his collar. "What you went through was nothing compared to what I experienced."

"How would you know?" Phantom whispered. "Valerie, I could feel his happiness when he saw you. I could feel his happiness when he saw me, and when Technus took him away, I could feel his terror. It was the last thing I felt before he was gone."

Valerie's hand dropped from Phantom's collar. She looked at him in awe. "You . . . felt it too?"

Phantom stared at the girl with a stupefied expression. "You mean-"

Valerie dropped to her knees and peeled her mask off, tossing it on the roof. Phantom knelt down beside her as she cried into her hands.

"I had no idea," she whispered as tears poured down her face. "He was so happy! He was just a baby – _our_ baby! And now he's – he's – oh God! He's gone, Danny! He's _gone_!"

"He's alive," Phantom said softly as Valerie looked up. "He's alive, and we're going to get him back."

Valerie looked up at Phantom. Her eyes were misty from the tears she had been struggling to keep from flowing down her face. "How?"

Phantom stood and scratched the back of his neck. "It . . . might take some time. But I felt something through our bond last night. He's alive, and he's in . . . good hands."

"Who's? Who has him?"

Phantom sighed. "His _brother_."

* * *

Walker peered over the end of the solid redwood desk, taking a pause from his work. The office before him was usually bare, but sitting in front of his new piece of furniture was an unusual contraption. It looked like a bright green box, but without a top. The four sides were made of a type of mesh netting, and the padded bottom was elevated slightly off the floor.

Inside the playpen sat a small infant who was playing with one of his toys. Every time the object made a musical tone, the baby squealed in delight and clapped his hands together. Each time that happened, Walker couldn't help but grin.

"I see the joys of fatherhood haven't cut too deeply into your schedule," Technus observed from the door. The ghost's arm was in a sling and a large bandage was wrapped around his forehead. He hadn't escaped from his bout with Phantom as unscathed as he thought. "Thought I'd drop by to see how the little guy was doing."

Walker kept his eyes on Technus as the ghost floated over to the infant's playpen. The baby didn't seem to recognize him as the ghost who stole him away from his parents the day before and looked at the green skinned specter with wide, curious eyes.

"He appears to be in excellent health," Technus grinned at the baby, who gurgled in amusement. His ghostly white tail wagged slightly. "Have you been feeding him that formula I acquired for you?"

"No, he refused to eat it," Walker replied. "Desiree has offered her . . . _maternal services_ to help nurture the child until he is ready to be weaned onto your formulas."

"Has he been fed recently?" Technus asked.

"For an infant, he feeds surprisingly sparsely. But I feel that his durability is simply one of his many powers."

Technus raised an eyebrow, which arced over the rim of his sunglasses. "_Many_ powers?"

"This is my younger sibling; my brother. He is destined for great things, and for great power." Walker maneuvered around his desk and scooped his sibling up into his arms. "Someday he will help me destroy our father," Walker held the baby under its arms and brought their faces close together. "Isn't that right? Isn't that right?"

Technus gawked at the sight of the massive, powerful, and possibly deranged Walker cooing at a happy little ghost baby like it was his own son.

"You are going to be initiating phase one of your missions soon," Technus recalled the information from his mind. "Code name: _Reality Wars_?"

"That's correct," Walker cradled his brother in his arms. "My associate needs to acquire one more artifact before we can proceed, and he is already making headway."

"You do realize that the artifact in question belongs to Plasmius," Technus said.

Walker was about to reply when he felt his brother wriggling uncomfortably in his arms.

"Fascinating," Technus murmured as the baby's movement ceased. "_Plasmius_," he said again. The baby began squirming once again, making distraught noises that sounded very close to crying.

"What are you doing?" Walker sneered as he rocked his younger sibling gently back and forth.

"It appears that I was not able to completely purge his techno-organic form. His mind must still retain memories from Phantom."

Walker glared at Technus with murder written all over his features. "What exactly does _that_ mean?"

"Your brother is also a second generation clone," Technus explained. "Any memories it would have from Phantom are likely to be severely distorted or faint. He will probably not be able to distinguish them as he grows older."

Walker set the infant down in his playpen and grinned as the baby resumed playing with his toys, seeming to have forgotten the events of the last five minutes.

"As I was saying, once your associate has obtained the last artifact from," Technus paused, not wanting to upset the baby or Walker any further, "_her_, where will you send the child?"

"Bullet has promised to take care of him until my campaign has ended. He will learn the ways of a warrior from Bullet's people and become my successor."

Technus nodded. "Well I must depart. Pla, er, _she_ has agreed to meet me for a business proposition, and it would be very rude of me to decline."

"Wulf will not be too far away if you require assistance. Remember, you work for _me_ now."

"How could I ever forget?" Technus smirked. "Farewell Walker, and farewell to you too-"

"Amorpho," Walker finished the techno ghost's sentence with a proud grin on his face. "His name is Amorpho."

"A fitting name for him. Good luck in your endeavors; we shall meet again soon," Technus bowed and left the room leaving the two siblings alone.

* * *

**One Week Later . . .**

Skulker reported to the lower level of Plasmius' laboratory as he usually did whenever he was tasked with monitoring some ghost creature or another. When the mercenary entered the dark room, he noticed with some degree of curiosity that the center tank did not contain a ghost creature of various compositions. Inside floated a suit, much like his own.

"Is it my birthday?" Skulker asked as his sensors detected Plasmius entering the room. "Or is this my payment?"

"I assure you, it is something else. Something much more _significant_," the ghost woman said with an edge to her voice. Skulker thought it was eagerness, but he couldn't figure out why.

Technus floated out from one of the computers in what Skulker could only guess was his new form that he took on while in GIW custody.

"Not too long ago, Phantom and the Huntress became the proud parents of a darling new young ghost. He was subsequently handed over to Walker by this _traitor_," Plasmius glared at Technus. "I was unable to send anyone into Casper High to retrieve the infant. Technus was working for Walker and you were busy elsewhere."

Skulker remained silent. He did not like where this conversation was going.

"While one of my greatest opportunities for study slipped through my fingers," Plasmius looked at her hands in disdain, "you were too busy creating a personal security device for your niece!"

Skulker tensed, expecting Samantha to be dragged out before him.

"Need I remind you that she already has one? And Phantom does an excellent job, might I add."

"I was observing a course of action that, at the time, I feared would place her in harms way without Daniel to save her."

"Yes, that course of action was the presence of Daniel's clone in my newly installed security system at Casper High; the installation of which you were supposed to oversee personally!" Skulker watched as Plasmius floated around the tank, keeping her eyes on the robotic suit inside. "Well I've reached a conclusion."

"And what might that be?" Skulker asked, not allowing his vocabulator to betray his nervousness.

"Your loyalties are clear; you would rather serve Samantha. I cannot have turncoats managing my operations."

Skulker looked at Technus, who shrugged.

"Technus is a _special_ case. He's the one who built that suit. He's the one who built the Spectral Separation Unit, and he's the one who will remain loyal to me long after your services are no longer required."

Skulker was hit by a beam of energy fired from a retractable turret concealed in the shadows of the ceiling. He felt his suit tumble to the floor and the corners of his vison went dark.

"Which, incidentally, starts _now_."

To Be Continued

_A/N: Ok, the end of Doomed is finally here. It might be short, but I must say, I'm pleased with how this segment ended._

_I really tried to make Valerie hate Phantom again, but I just couldn't do it. She already was starting to warm up to him after the bounty hunter invasion and then she gets impregnated with his child. I mean, if she turned on him right then and there, who could she possibly have been able to talk to in the hopes of them understanding? And I felt like the icing on the cake would be for them to share the bond with baby Amorpho. She wouldn't know how to deal with that alone and neither would Phantom. They need each other right now. Maybe I'll make them hate each other later on. Right now, they're more like uncomfortably acquainted strangers who have to learn how to love in order to make things right. More on that some other time; this isn't __The Young and the Restless__._

_And egad! What happened to Skulker?! Well the answer lies in my DeviantArt page, so go check it out. Next chapter, we explore Danny's relationship with his father in a segment that has actually been pretty solid and finalized since I started writing this whole story. I've tweaked it a bit, added some new characters and whatnot, but _Paternal Instincts_ should be well received (at least I hope it is)._

_And I totally have a girlfriend! No, I don't. I'm kidding._

_It is my duty to inform you that, due to some emotional trauma I am experiencing right now (my job) I am uncertain if the next two segments leading up to the start of the Reality Wars will be of the same caliber as the previous ones. That's why I've called in a professional to help me out. Ladies and germs, please give a warm welcome to the disarmingly beautiful and stunningly talented _**Cordria! **_She has agreed to beta-read _Paternal Instincts_, so expect this chapter to totally blow you out of the water. I went into my pool just so that I could experience that literally._

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, especially _Shining Zephyr, Vorago Atrox, darkbunny92, inukagome15, Silverline Scimitar, Fulcon, phantoms-allie, Billy D., _and_ Acaykath.

**FALCON - _PUNCH! - _Captain Falcon**


	92. Paternal Instincts 1

Paternal Instincts

Chapter C

_(**C **equals **100**)  
(Yay 100!)  
(Boo Roman Numerals...)_

Sam and Tucker watched as Danny fiddled with one of his parents' inventions. They tried to keep from intruding and mostly minded their own conversation and meals, but Danny Fenton at the Nasty Burger without so much as a fry basket seemed quite out of place.

"Do you think you'll be done any time soon?" Sam asked finally, unable to sit by any longer.

"Yeah, didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to build anti-ghost weapons at the table?" Tucker chimed in.

Danny grinned and rolled his eyes. "They told me it was rude to do anything at the table except eat, unless that particular _anything_ involved ghosts. Incidentally . . ." Danny finished tightening a screw into the odd device he was tinkering with and slid it across the table to Tucker.

"You made us come here, forced us to leave you alone for an hour, and completely ignored us just so you could build a boomerang?" Tucker asked disbelievingly as he studied the object.

"It's one of my dad's inventions," Danny explained as Tucker examined the object from all angles. "He calls it the _boo_merang. It keys into a ghost's unique ecto signature and finds them."

"How?" Sam asked as the _boo_merang was passed to her.

"Drop it," Danny instructed.

Sam looked at her friend suspiciously, but did as she was told. Before the boomerang could hit the table, it sped right at Danny's face. It smacked him in the forehead and fell to the table with a clatter, attracting a few odd looks from the other Nasty Burger patrons.

"That's pretty neat," Tucker grabbed the boomerang again and let it go just to see it fly across the table and smack into Danny's forehead once more. "It really works," he said with a bemusedly evil grin, figuring it served Danny right for ignoring them the past hour or so. "So you've been adjusting it to key into your ecto signature this whole time?"

"Yup," Danny nodded as he rubbed his head.

"Wait a minute," Sam said in realization. "You're not going to use that thing to find your son, are you?"

"You guys are starting to catch on quick," Danny chuckled. "He's my clone, so it would have to lock onto him."

"What if it locks onto Walker?" Tucker asked.

"Well**, **that's just as good; he's the one watching him," Danny noted the shocked expressions on his friends' faces. "I mean, Technus was working for him while he was inside the school, so who else would he give him to?"

"That's . . . really not all that surprising, if you think about it," Sam said as she twirled her hair.

"Guess not," Tucker mumbled.

"Besides, I don't think this thing would try to find Walker anyway," Danny snatched the boomerang away from Tucker. "He's got some of Paulina's DNA too."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Again, if you ever have to ask yourself why he's a psychotic murderer, just remember that."

Danny scowled at his friend, but let her remark slide.

"How's Valerie taking the news?" Tucker turned the conversation away from what could have led to an argument.

"She said she'll support me no matter what I decide to do, but I made her swear to let me find him alone."

"And she did?" Sam crossed her arms. "That doesn't seem like something she'd do."

"Why do you say that?" Danny asked.

"Well, I mean, no offense or anything, but you weren't exactly the one carrying little Phantom Junior around in your body," Sam began. "Even if it was only for a little bit. On top of that, you said she shares the bond with him too. And Valerie isn't the kind of girl who walks away from this kind of thing."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

"While you and the two stooges were thinking about how to find Technus, she told me that she didn't want to take the backseat in raising him. She knew he was a ghost, but he was still her child. She didn't want to mess up her first shot at motherhood."

"Even with all the other stuff she's been through," Danny said softly.

"Don't try to play her up to be more devoted to him than you," Tucker said. "Sure, she's your baby's momma, but you're still the super-powered dad. You're the one who can beat Walker and get him back once you get the chance. You're the one fiddling with these weird machines to hunt for him. I mean, sure, she's probably got a lot on her plate, but you have more and you've had it longer."

"That doesn't mean that her stress is any less than Danny's," Sam retorted.

"I never said that," Tucker countered. "Valerie's stress might be more, shall we say, traumatic, but Danny has a lot more and he's had to deal with if for a lot longer."

"So what you're saying is that Danny is more stressed out than Valerie?" Sam twisted in her seat to look at Tucker.

"Yes, I _am_ saying that. Valerie's mom might have died, and you're never supposed to forget something like that, but you move on, you know? You don't get over it, but you keep going; you don't let it control your life. It's not supposed to hang on you forever. I think she's finally accepted that and is moving on with her life. Danny, on the other hand, can't just move on. His enemies aren't just going to fade away like memories. They're a constant threat, and he always has to deal with them or some new thing. Valerie might have had a lot of serious stuff thrown at her all at once, but Danny's has been building up for months and it isn't just going to go away."

Sam slouched in her seat, having lost the logic debate against her adamant and informed opponent.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Tucker," Danny said with a grin. "And Valerie won't have to wait long for her shot at being a mother. I'm going to get our baby back."

"Order fifty two is ready for the Foley party," the waitress at the counter said in a bored tone over the loudspeaker.

"Ribs!" Tucker exclaimed excitedly. "Hang tight!"

Sam and Danny watched him go, wearing the same grins that parents would give a child.

"Danny," Sam turned her attention back to the boy in front of her. "You can't really be serious about trying to find him."

"Of course I'm serious!" Danny looked at Sam in confusion. "Why wouldn't I be serious?"

"Well for starters, he's being cared for by _Walker_." Sam rested her arms on the table and leaned forward. "You really think that you could get your son away from Walker by yourself? And even if you managed to get away, do you really think Walker would just let you _keep_ him?"

Danny remained silent.

"And then there's the whole fact that everyone in the Ghost Zone hates you for some reason or another. The only ghosts that wouldn't try to kill you on the spot are the ones that are on Earth, and I doubt they'd be too eager to go through the trouble of getting the Son of Phantom away from the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone."

"I wasn't going to go right now," Danny said dejectedly. "I know it's not going to make things easier for when I do find him, but Walker is probably giving him as much care and affection as Tucker gives to his PDA. He might grow up to hate me like Walker does, but at least he'll be happy and cared for."

Sam smiled. "That's really grown up of you, Danny," Sam reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

Tucker chose that moment to flop down in his seat, dropping the platter of ribs in the middle of the table with a loud _**CLANG**_. Sam and Danny withdrew their hands to prevent them from getting crushed. Almost as an afterthought, Tucker swiftly slid Sam's salad to her.

"Thank God this wasn't a long wait; I'm starved!" Tucker took the biggest rib he could find and tore all the meat off the one side with his teeth.

Sam squinted her eyes in disgust and slid down the table. Danny helped himself to some of Tucker's ribs, enjoying the company. He knew every second away from his son was one more second Walker had to twist his impressionable infant mind. At the present, though, there wasn't much he could do about it.

* * *

"It is . . . unsettling to see him in such a state," Skulker admitted as he looked upon the figure of a ghost locked away in stasis. "He was once such a bold and noble warrior."

Plasmius regarded her upgraded minion with irritation. "I did not go through the hassle of augmenting your form and abilities just so that you could go soft on me."

"I did not mean anything by it," the robot's arms rose in its defense. "He was just part of my mind for so long."

"You would to well to forget that part of your past, Skulker, as Kaine is no longer a part of you."

The robotic shell maneuvered its head to look into the reflective steel wall behind Kaine Manson's stasis unit. His exoskeleton was much different than his predecessor's. The body was nearly the same; only slimmed down for enhanced maneuverability. The most significant and outright frightening outward appearance was his head. Where his mouth once was, there was now a row of spikes. Two horns curved out from the sides of the skull and pointed out at an angle. Where his two optical sensors once were there was now a single translucent sensor. His flaming Mohawk still dominated the top of his head, and served to make this new Skulker look all the more . . . _demonic_; the exact effect Plasmius was aiming for.

"I exist to serve only you, my master," Skulker replied solemnly. "The memories of Kaine will only serve as motivation to complete your missions."

Plasmius grinned. "Then allow me to direct you to your first one."

The two ghosts exited the containment room, leaving Kaine and his three roommates behind. Plasmius led Skulker down to another holding area, only this one was designed in a fashion similar to that of a dungeon.

"Was this a logical design plan for this room?" Skulker asked. "I feel your research could be expanded if there weren't so many unusual chambers."

Plasmius ventured confidently into the scarcely lit room. "This room_ is _expanding my research."

Skulker's sensor switched to night vision, adding an enhanced ecto detection unit. He saw a blur of motion off to the side of the room and turned to face it. The creature, whatever it was, moved faster than Skulker thought was possible for something its size. Skulker crouched into an attack position, keeping his sensor trained on the ghost. "Target acquired," he growled. "Shall I execute?"

"You shall do no such thing," Plasmius ordered as she kept her focus on the area where Skulker was looking. Even without enhanced visual aids, she could see perfectly fine in the dark.

The blur jumped from the floor to the wall, then to the ceiling. Skulker felt his computer systems flicker as an odd sonic vibration pinged off his armor. He was being scanned by echolocation. The ghost took into account all the animals he knew of that used that particular method of pinpointing objects. None of the results matched the form of the creature in the room.

"Come down, my boy," Plasmius called out in a friendly voice. "Don't be afraid, Skulker will _not_ harm you."

Skulker thought about adding 'unless provoked' to the end of her sentence, but decided not to as the ghost creature slowly descended the wall and cautiously made its way over to Plasmius. Once in the light, Skulker saw it for what it truly was. "A human?"

"Oh, he is much more than that," Plasmius corrected sinisterly. "Skulker, meet Eliot. Former agent for the Guys in White."

Skulker reviewed his memory banks for information relating to the individual. "This is the one responsible for the death of Valerie Gray's mother," he stated. "And it seems that he also struck a girl named Samantha Manson."

Plasmius' eye twitched. "And does that have any relevance to the matter at hand?"

"Seeing as how I do not know who either of those two females is, no, I suppose it does not."

The ghost woman grinned. "Excellent." She turned her attention back to Elliot. "While he was in the White's custody, they introduced him to some of Daniel's DNA. The healing factor saved his life, but it also imbued him with ghost powers."

"That is not possible," Skulker stated. "Ghost powers cannot be transmitted via DNA fusion."

"Well then how is he still alive?" Plasmius gestured to the ghost creature at her feet.

"Uncertain. With enough time for dissection and molecule examination, I-"

"Will have to wait until he's dead," Plasmius finished. "Your first mission is with him."

Skulker looked at the ghost. His new face was unable to express emotions, but he felt overwhelmingly disappointed. "Him?"

"I will give you a full synopsis after he has departed."

"How do you plan on getting the creature there?"

As if to answer the robot's question himself, the ghost creature stood on its hind legs and spread its arms out. The two end fingers on each hand had been fused together and elongated. A thin membrane stretched between the ends of the fingers and the side of his body. He had wings.

Skulker tilted his head to the side. "Fascinating."

"Proximus, as the Guys in White have so aptly named him, is a triple hybrid; part ghost, part human, and part vampire bat. The bat DNA, when combined with Daniel's regenerative strands, mutated his biological physiology and forced an evolution. However, he cannot fly without his wings. He is also incapable of turning invisible or intangible, but one other aspect of his ghostly nature was enhanced as well."

Skulker felt the pings of Proximus' echolocation. The ghost seemed to be sizing him up to judge how formidable an opponent he was. If he had a mouth, Skulker would have grinned.

"His sonic manipulation," Skulker answered the unasked question. "My monitoring has revealed to me that Lydia and Wulf suffered a new kind of injury as they attempted to flee the government headquarters. Sonic vibrations of an unusually off-key frequency almost completely destabilized them."

"Sonar is not a conventional weapon, but it seems that evolution intended that all along," Plasmius ushered Proximus out of the dungeon and sealed it shut behind the trio. "Submarines have killed entire pods of dolphins and porpoises with sonar. Sonic pulses are much more powerful than standard energy attacks because humans are so sensitive to sound. It is even more detrimental to ghosts due to our naturally unstable molecular structure."

"So Proximus has mastered this form of attack?" Skulker looked down at the bat creature as it padded along on all fours.

"I am uncertain. The gene splicing severely damaged his mental capabilities, so I am unable to train him as I would a sentient being." Plasmius opened the door to another room.

This room had a circular door built into the ceiling. With the push of a wall-mounted button, the circular barrier retracted and a breeze drifted into the room. Skulker's olfactory sensors detected several scents of nocturnal creatures; it was nighttime. Proximus ran around in circles under the sky door, screeching and growling excitedly. He would pause to look at Plasmius every few seconds.

"Go ahead, my pet. Find Phantom and engage him in combat. Let him know you still live." Plasmius flashed a toothy smile as Proximus howled up into the night before taking flight. He rose up through the door, flapping his massive wings, and disappeared from view.

"What would you have me do, master?" Skulker asked after the door had shut.

"A contact of mine will be arriving at my Colorado home within the hour. Please be there to greet him. There are . . . matters I must attend to here first."

Skulker bowed. "As you command." The mercenary activated his warp sequence and vanished.

"What are the readings on his neural patterns?" Plasmius asked her computer once the new Skulker was gone.

Technus' face appeared on screen. "I detect no ulterior motivation to his actions. Serving you is his highest priority."

"What of his memories?" Plasmius made her way back to the containment chamber. Technus' computer screen followed along.

"The Spectral Separation Unit worked exactly as predicted. Not only did it separate Kaine from his composite form, it also took his more meddlesome memories with him. This new Skulker will have no recollection of his romance with Ember McLain, his relation to Samantha Manson, or anything else that might place a hindrance on your plans. Those remain with Kaine."

"Did it remove any of his powers?" Plasmius sealed the chamber door behind her and examined the occupants of the other three units.

"Skulker's composite form _was _one of his powers. I suppose it still _is_. Aside from reduced durations of intangibility, invisibility, and flight, Skulker is still as powerful as he was before. The new suit, with its enhanced strength modifiers and magnetic repulsion systems, should make up for the slight detraction."

Plasmius carefully studied the body in the first chamber, churning Technus' report around in her mind. "Anything else I should know?"

"It seems that the separation process enhanced Skulker's reflexes and agility. With the artificial augmentation the new suit design gives him, he will be much more deadly in combat than my original calculations predicted."

"Excellent."

"There is one drawback," Technus said. He did not sound apprehensive of divulging this information, as her other subjects often did. "The suit requires slightly less energy than the first model, but it runs directly off the energy of the ghost wearing it. Since Skulker is permanently bonded to the armor, acting as its consciousness and power source, he is unable to use any standard ghost attacks, such as ghost rays. The lack of on board weapon systems, in addition to his lack of natural offensive capabilities, leaves him particularly vulnerable to attack."

Plasmius had moved from the first tank to the second and was now fondly looking into the third one. "I suppose we will have to see if his agility can compensate."

"I have run several thousand simulations to observe the same issue. Rest assured that Skulker is still capable of holding his own against Daniel."

Plasmius intangibly reached into the tank she was standing next to and brushed a strand of hair away from the ghost's face. It was so . . . _beautiful_. But she was missing one critical piece to complete the genetic puzzle that lay before her. Composing herself and standing up straighter, Plasmius headed for the upstairs quarters of her Wisconsin home.

"Keep tabs on Proximus. I am curious to hear how their encounter goes over."

"It will be done," Technus filed the command away for later. "Would you like me to send your letter now?"

"Yes, but type it and send it through the postal service. I want there to be a delay between the events of Proximus' appearance and the arrival of the letter."

"As you wish."

"Now if you'll excuse me," Plasmius reverted back to human form.

The black-purple ghostly rings formed at her waist and traveled over her body. The devilish, evil appearance of Plasmius was sealed away by the disarmingly gorgeous face of Vanessa Masters. The human woman entered her elevator and headed for her helipad on top of her house where her aerial chauffer was waiting to fly her to Colorado.

Her associate, the enigmatic Mr. Showenhower, did not know of her ghostly nature. The hybrid decided to keep it that way.

To Be Continued

_A/N: Yeah, I know, these are getting somewhat shorter in length. But they're oh-so-intriguing, right?_

_I would like to take this opportunity to thank the lovely Cordria again for her beta-ing of this episode. She really is a joy to work with. If you ever need someone to beta your story . . . STAY AWAY! SHE'S MINE! Er, I mean, I'm sure she'd be just ever so delighted to help you._

_But yes, for some reason, Maternal Instincts is one of the most favorite episodes ever. I think it's either one of his favorite or the very favorite episode of Butch Hartman. I, personally, was put off by how down-played the whole "we're in the wilderness being chased by ghost mutants!" thing was. But never fear, for Jack will surely make things interesting!_

_There is, as is my custom, a twist to this chapter in addition to the ones you've already seen. It is a direct tie in to the next chapter, which is a combination of Control Freaks and one of my favorite episodes. This is not a tangled web I weave, it is a very intricate one._

_Reviews hit 1080 earlier. 1080 is an awesome N64 snowboarding game. Special thanks to everyone who put me over that number, especially_ darkbunny92, Vorago Atrox, inukagome15, Bloxham, Shining Zephyr, phantoms-allie, _and_ Pterodactyl.

_So, like, who wants to draw these guys, huh? Go crazy! HURGLAHBARGLEOBBLEGOB!_

** HURGLAHBARGLEOBBLEGOB!**


	93. Paternal Instincts 2

Chapter CI

"Ok Danny, your parents are officially gone," Sam reported as she saw the Fenton RV pull out of the driveway.

"I still can't believe they agreed to go to the opera," Danny said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Uh, _Phantom_ of the Opera, anybody?" Tucker offered.

"Oh, yeah," Danny grinned. "Ok, so what's on the agenda for tonight?"

Sam grinned menacingly. "Training."

Before Danny could ask, Tucker and Sam had each grabbed one of his arms and were dragging him down into the lab. Upon their arrival, Danny saw the room like he had never seen it before. Obstacles jutted out from the floor, walls, and ceiling. Automated turrets rotated back and forth, sweeping the room for targets. Jazz, wearing a lab coat and a pair of reading glasses, sat behind a large glass wall.

"Danny, you're here!" she called out, waving the trio over.

"Jazz? What_ is _all this?" Danny asked in astonishment.

"All this is the training course mom and dad designed for the Fenton Ecto Suit." She sighed and removed her glasses. "But you know Dad; he wanted to make it _cool_. So he designed a course that was sized for a human, but too powerful to get through without the exoskeleton."

"So?" Danny was looking around the room, still slightly shocked by the drastic changes.

Jazz sighed. "The exoskeleton is at least three times bigger than a normal human. Maybe only twice as big as dad, but still, the suit couldn't work with this obstacle course. So I made some slight modifications in my free time. It was as easy as Shake'n Bake!"

"And I helped!" Tucker chimed in, proudly pointing his thumb at his chest.

Danny rolled his eyes, but he was too excited to be bothered. "I get to try it out?"

"Stand on the red line," Jazz pointed to said marker at the end of the glass barrier. "I'll just go over some of the features. This wall is shielded from energy attacks. The turrets fire low-powered laser bolts, so they don't pose much of a threat. You, I'm not so sure about. Keep it scaled down, ok? All you need to do is hit them with a beam and they'll shut down."

"Got it. Ok, let's go!" Danny began his transformation, willing the silver-green rings to form at his waist.

"Wait!" Jazz reached out and, to everyone's surprise, _grabbed onto_ the rings before they could split.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked at her in awe.

"Hey!" Danny swatted her hand away and the rings disappeared. "How'd you do that?"

"I don't know," Jazz replied. "I didn't know those were tangible."

"That makes four of us," Tucker added. "I'd keep that little secret to yourself, Danny. Or have Temper and Follicle work on fixing it."

"_Tempest_ and _Folium_," Danny corrected irritably.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Jazz interrupted. "Hit any targets that pop up, but only the ones shaped like ghosts. There are some that have our faces on them; don't hit those."

Danny grinned. "No promises."

Jazz glared at her brother. "Whenever you see rings come out of the wall, fly through them. Try not to slow down."

"Is there, like, a score for this or something?" Danny asked, rocking back and forth on his feet in anticipation.

"Actually, yes, there is," Jazz confirmed as she brought up a display on the computer. "The course keeps track of how many turrets you hit, how many rings you fly through, stuff like that. Each time you do better, a new obstacle is added."

"Sweet! Now can I go?" Danny willed the silver-green rings to form at his waist.

"Not yet!" Jazz reached out and grabbed the ghostly rings again, this time pulling on them. As they were tethered to Danny's center of gravity, he was yanked back as well. "There are a few rules I have to explain!"

"Oh come on, rules?" Danny smacked Jazz's hand away and dispersed the rings. "This is a training course!"

"Exactly," Jazz said with a smirk. "Rule number one, follow the flashing red lights. Rule number two, you can't just phase through everything. Rule number three, this obstacle course is designed for _you_, not Tempest, not Folium, _you_. No using them to help you with any powers or anything."

"Hey, that was four things!" Tucker declared.

"The last one was a two parter," Jazz muttered.

Danny sighed. "Fine. Now can I go?" He waited to form the rings at his waist.

"Ok, get ready," Jazz typed in commands onto the computer. Lights blinked off throughout the course, turrets began sweeping the room faster, and obstacles slightly realigned themselves. "Get set . . . go!"

Jazz held onto her clipboard, Tucker held on tohis hat, and Sam held the front of her skirt down as Phantom blasted away from the red line faster than he'd ever taken flight before.

"Is he always so eager to start?" Jazz asked her brother's friends.

"I dunno, ask Sam," Tucker said with a grin.

"Shut up, Tucker," Sam hissed as she elbowed him in the ribs.

* * *

Phantom sped through the first several walls and fired a weak beam of energy at a nearby turret. As he phased through the last wall, a new wall sprung up in front of him; one made of fire.

He flew right through it, wincing as the wall of heat charred his skin. He continued on, knowing that his regenerative powers would take care of his burns. It was a good thing that was the case, because Phantom was focusing very hard on flying through hoops. He passed through the first three without difficulty, but more began popping up in sporadic locations. His speed was slowed minimally but he managed to fly through all the rings.

The next part of the course had pop-up turrets which his father built so he could play whack-a-ghost. The turrets were concealed by cutouts of ghosts and humans. Phantom fired a beam of energy at a cutout of a ghost before its turret could fire. Two more sprang up on either side of him and were easily disarmed. But the turrets began springing up much quicker. Several laser bolts made it through Phantom's defenses, singing his backside.

With an angry growl, Phantom began firing much stronger energy blasts to make sure the turrets stayed down. He made sure to leave the ones with civilians and his friends and family in one piece, as long as they didn't shoot at him.

He finished with that part of the course and moved onto the next part and found himself flying at a triangular wall. The path on both sides was narrow, and if he veered off course, he could crash. Phantom thought about using his others to help him duplicate, but knew Jazz would scold him to no end. So he concentrated on the duplication process on his own in the one second he had until he hit the wall. It wasn't enough, and the space between Phantom's necks slammed into the-

"Wait," Phantom said as he slumped to the ground.

"What?" his other head turned to look at him.

The two Phantom heads looked at each other before they screamed.

* * *

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam made their way through the now-deactivated training course. The walls and barriers and obstacles were retreating into the walls and floor and ceiling. Towards the end of the room, the three saw Danny looking at . . . _himself_. He appeared extremely uncomfortable.

"Dude," Tucker said with a grin. "What the heck happened?"

"I tried to split in two," Phantom's left head replied.

"But I couldn't get it to work by myself," the right one finished.

"That's so _weird_," Sam remarked.

"Gee, thanks," the left Phantom's head said grumpily.

"I won't be getting you a birthday present this year," the right Phantom's head added.

"Danny, pull yourself together . . . literally, I mean," Jazz ordered.

Danny concentrated, but his dual craniums refused to go back together. "Ok, let's try something else," both heads mumbled.

Phantom allowed his transformation rings to change him back to Danny Fenton. It solved his head problem –

"What the-"

– But, as Tucker so subtly pointed out, it created another.

Danny looked at his sister and his friends with his eye; his lone, single eye. The boy caught a glimpse of himself in a sheet of reflective metal and started yelling in shock.

"Snap out of it!" Tucker grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Everything's going to be ok!"

"Tucker, let me try," Jazz moved Tucker out of the way, shaking her brother by the shoulders. "Stop it, Danny! Get a grip! You're going to be fine!"

"Jazz, it's not working," Sam lightly shoved her out of the way and cupped Danny's face in her hands. "Knock it off, goofball!" she slapped him, causing his eye to divide in two. Each eye slid back in place. "See?" Sam asked, turning to the others.

"Thanks Sam," Danny rubbed his forehead. "Well that sufficiently scared the crap out of me. I'd suggest we go to the Nasty Burger, but we were just there, like, two days ago."

"Oh God forbid we frequent the only fast food place within walking distance of our houses," Sam rolled her eyes. "Wanna go see a movie?" she offered. "I mean, you know, all of us," she added hurriedly as Tucker's mischievous eyes darted between her and Danny.

"Ooh! It can be like a double date!" Jazz grabbed Tucker's arm and slid closer to him.

Tucker grinned, but Danny and Sam knew he was about to have a spaz attack. Sam smiled smugly and folded her arms across her chest. She didn't even have to say a word.

"Hey, no getting cozy with my best friend," Danny pointed as Jazz.

"Aren't you supposed to yell at me?" Tucker asked.

Jazz giggled. "Not when _I'm_ the one hitting on _you_," she whispered into his ear.

"Alright, alright, enough!" Danny stepped forward and shoved them away from each other. The other three teenagers shared a laugh while Danny sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is so wrong . . ."

* * *

Proximus yawned and opened his eyes. He had arrived in Amity Park earlier in the morning, but his nonstop flight over had taken its toll on the ghost creature and he needed to rest. Rubbing his eyes with the bends of his arms, Proximus unclamped his feet from the support beam he had been hanging from and fell to the ground. He righted himself at the last moment and landed on his feet. Yawning once more to dispel his grogginess, Proximus began to smell the air.

"Ah, there you are," he said softly after several minutes of taking in scents.

Unbeknownst to Plasmius, Elliot was not just a savage beast. The processes he had undergone had surely not increased his intelligence, but his mind was still as sharp as ever. He had deduced that his sonic powers scrambled his brainwaves, which would lead Plasmius' monitoring equipment to think that he no longer thought as a sentient being. Oh how wrong she was.

"You smell different, Phantom," Elliot said to himself. "You're more powerful than I remember. But it matters not. My mission isn't to destroy you . . . yet."

With an inhuman wail, Proximus launched himself from the window in Amity Park's clock tower and took flight. Phantom was close at hand and his adversary was eager to see how far he had come.

* * *

Walker looked up from his papers and grinned at the sight of Desiree playing with his brother. The ghost genie bounced little Amorpho up and down on her lap, humming a tune that Walker was unfamiliar with. The little ghost squealed in delight and flapped his arms up and down.

"I think he's taken a liking to you," Walkernoted absently as he rifledthough his documents.

Desiree jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "If I am being too overbearing-"

"No, it is no problem at all," Walker quickly interjected, looking up from his work again. "I am pleased that he is quick to adapt to the presence of others."

Desiree nodded weakly. While helping Walker rear his younger brother was a nice reprieve from the usual humdrum business of the Ghost Zone, she was still on the clock of the most feared ghost the dimension had housed in quite a long time. It did not quell her uneasiness to know that he took residence on the property of the most powerful ghost in known history.On top of that, her husband was still incapacitated and she had no idea where her daughter was.

"He's a powerful one," Desiree said with a smile as she turned her attention back to the baby. "He'll grow up to be big and string, just like his brother, won't he?" she said sweetly.

Amorpho gurgled in delight and waved his arms around. The ghost infant turned to look at the near by wall as Wulf phased through it. The massive, lupine specter grinned at Amorpho and flopped down on the ground next to the baby. Desiree scooted back from the imposing canine, although it appeared to have fallen asleep. Amorpho pulled at black tufts of hair, making excited noises every time the coarse black fur slipped through his three fingers and he almost lost his balance.

"If I may ask," Desiree floated up off the ground and hovered over to Walker's desk. "Is there any news of my husband?"

Walker sighed. "I do not know how long the restoration process will take. Bullet has never had to revive a being of the Turpetrator's power before. It could take several years."

Desiree looked at the floor dejectedly. "I understand."

Walker regarded the genie with pity. "If you would like, I could make a wish to-"

"No!" Desiree shouted.

Wulf's ears perked up and Amorpho looked over to see what was happening. Once he saw everything was ok, he resumed his fruitless work of trying to tear out Wulf's fur.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice," she apologized, floating several feet away from Walker. "You must understand, every wish I grant has horrible consequences. I- I couldn't risk doing something that would hurt him or . . . _change _him."

Walker nodded slowly. "I understand. Do not fret, Desiree, he will return to you in all his glory someday. I promise you."

The genie smiled despite her emotions and nodded. "I am eternally grateful."

Walker grinned, but a tune began to play from a cell phone on his desk. "Keep your eyes on him," Walker pointed to his brother. "I'll be back."

The ghost flew up through his ceiling and landed on his roof. He flipped open his phone and held the device to his ear.

"This had better be good news, Freakshow," Walker growled.

"Please don't call me that," the man in question sighed. "It's so demeaning."

"How is your progress in acquiring the gems?" Walker ignored the man's plea.

"I've arrived at Vanessa Master's mountain home in Colorado. Her . . ._ servant_ greeted me."

"She is not there?" Walker's voice grew angry.

"She's on her way," the man on the other line replied. "This Skulker person informed me that her pilot made a miscalculation during their flight and took them considerably off course."

"She has likely been delayed by some other matter at her residence," Walker grumbled. "Do not be deceived by the ghost woman, Frederick. She is cunning, manipulative, and deadly. Guard yourself carefully."

Frederick laughed from the other end of the line. "My friend, don't underestimate me, I'm capable of protecting myself quite well."

"The augmentation formula?"

"It worked better than I could have envisioned! Perhaps the name _Freakshow_ isn't all that inappropriate."

Walker raised an eyebrow. "It has changed you?" he asked curiously.

"Not to such a noticeable extent. You're a well read ghost, I'm sure you've heard of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

Walker grinned. "I see. However, neither your newfound prowess nor the artifact you have obtained will be a match for Plasmius. She is extremely powerful and . . . _immune_ to mind control."

Silence came from Frederick's end. "What do you mean _immune_?" he asked slowly.

"Just know that your orb will not be able to manipulate her the way it will be able to manipulate Proximus or Phantom. She will know if you attempt to do so, and then she will kill you."

"I understand. Fear not, controlling her was never my intention."

"Good. Report to me after your part has ended, then report back to me."

"Of course," Frederick replied.

Walker closed his phone and returned to his office. Desiree was asleep on the couch near Amorpho's playpen. The baby ghost was nestled in her arms. Wulf rested near the couch, his ears up and alert lest the slightest disturbance should occur. Walker grinned and settled down in his chair. There was work to be done; work that would ensure that Amorpho would have plenty more quiet, peaceful nights like this one.

To Be Continued

_A/N: One of my favorite things to do is to set things up for future events. It's so much fun. If you ever write a ridiculously long story, I suggest you try it. So there we have the prelude to the fight between Phantom and Proximus. I modeled the fight after the fight scene in the new Hulk movie. If you've seen it, you'll be able to catch the references. If not, then I suggest you go see the movie. It was really good._

_Earlier, when I talked about Desiree providing maternal services to baby Amorpho, that included any and everything a mother would do for her child. I didn't want to get too blatant and graphic with breast feeding or stuff like that, and I didn't want to completely go off topic with him having his diaper changed. Personally, I think every ounce of energy goes into the ghost's subconscious effort to keep their molecular structure stable, so they never have to excrete waste. That's why some ghosts don't have a "body" below their midsection. And besides, when has a ghost ever had to go to the bathroom in an episode of Danny Phantom? The answer is an unsurprising NEVER. But anyway, there was an example of Desiree acting as babysitter/mommy for Amorpho while bib brother Walker attends to some important business. It's like a weird, dysfunctional family._

_And speaking of families, Jack and Danny get to spend some quality father-son time! Not next chapter, though, the one after that. So stay tuned._

_Once again, give it up for my incredibly talented beta-reader, Cordria. She's moving this weekend, so wish her luck for whatever one needs luck in regards to relocating. Maybe wish her luck that her movers are competent. I've heard some stories about bad ones, like one kid lost almost all his Transformers since the movers didn't secure the truck. His parents' lost their bed too. So yeah . . ._

_Reviews! GASP! Only three for the last chapter?! Hmm. For some odd reason which may or may not have anything to do with my 109,000+ hits, I don't feel so bad. Special thanks goes to _Vorago Atrox, Cordria, inukagome15, alienphantom, _and my good friend_, Billy D.

**YELLOW PAGES: LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING! - Yellow Book (Phone Book)**


	94. Paternal Instincts 3

CII

"It's so nice out!" Jazz exclaimed as she walked with her brother and his friends to the Nasty Burger. "I can't believe summer is almost here already!"

"The year has gone by quick," Tucker agreed. "I can only begin to imagine what it's gonna be like, what with Danny being able to fight ghosts full time."

"I hope it isn't as often as it has been," Danny noted. He felt tired just thinking about it.

"Don't worry," Sam said comfortingly. "You'll still have time for us. I don't think a couple of stupid ghosts are gonna keep you tied up all summer."

"And if you keep working on that training course, they shouldn't be a problem anyway," Jazz added.

Before long, the teens found themselves at the fast food joint. It was relatively quiet even though it was the weekend, and the party of four managed to get seats quickly.

"So, I'm curious," Sam began as she picked through her salad. "Tuck and I saw Valerie on our way out of the hotel. What did you guys talk about?"

Danny dropped his french fry and sighed. "Nothing good," he mumbled.

"Why? What happened?" Jazz looked from each of the younger teenagers in confusion.

"You want us to tell her, or do you wanna do it?" Tucker asked after he swallowed a particularly big bite of his burger.

Danny took a deep breath and began to retell the story of how his clone impregnated Valerie. He found it quite nice that Jazz didn't interrupt or ask questions like she normally did. Finally, with some dramatic emphasis placed on the fate of his new son, the hybrid teen finished his story.

Jazz sat in silence for a moment, going over everything in her mind. Sam and Tucker cast each other worried glances, but said nothing. Jazz didn't appear distraught or angry; just contemplative.

"So you and Valerie have a son, and you and Paulina have a son," Jazz summarized. "If I had to guess, I'd say Walker is watching him."

"That's what I think too," Danny said, nodding his head. "I tweaked the _boo_merang to lock into my ecto signature, so-"

"So that it can track down your baby since he's your clone," Jazz finished. "Very clever, little brother, I'm impressed. But his Walker person doesn't seem like the kind of ghost that would just let you walk away with your baby."

"That's what _I _said," Sam threw in.

"And_ I_ said that I wasn't going after him right this second," Danny spoke. "I know I can't take on Walker and I know there aren't any ghosts who would help me; at least not for the sake of getting my son back."

"Well, you know, with proper planning and enough weapons, I'm sure you could hold your own against him," Jazz said. "But I agree that you should probably hold off on a daring rescue for now."

"But anyway, getting back to what you asked earlier," Danny turned his attention to Sam, "Valerie was pretty shocked when I told her that our baby was being watched by his brother."

"You_ told_ her?" Sam gasped.

Danny nodded sheepishly. "I told her that Walker is my son from the future who wants to kill me for taking over the world. She believed me," Danny rubbed his neck. "I was really expecting her to be like 'oh, yeah right' or something, but I guess when you fight ghosts, you realize that anything's possible."

"Did you, uh," Tucker took a sip of his Wild Cherry Pepsi, "Did you happen to divulge the _unique parentage_ of Walker?"

"I decided to leave that little detail out," Danny chuckled. "I doubt she'd still uphold this cease-fire thing we have going if she knew I was sleeping around with our classmates in alternate futures."

Sam kicked him from under the table. "So how did she react to _that_? Was she ok with it, or what?"

"Well," Danny reached under the table and rubbed his shin tenderly, "she wasn't too happy that I turn into a monster, but I told her that I refuse to allow myself to become whatever it is that made Walker hate me so much."

"So? What did she say?" Tucker asked as he finished off his burger.

"She said she wants to help bring our son back. I tried to explain how dangerous it'll be, but she doesn't care." Danny sighed. "I guess you don't really realize how dangerous something is until you've experienced it yourself. I mean, Walker nearly vaporized me." Danny looked at his hands, studying them intently. "I would've died if it wasn't for my healing powers. The pain, though," Danny's hands started trembling slightly and he slid them under the table. "It was . . . _horrible_, but I recovered. I couldn't let Valerie do that to herself. She doesn't know Walker. I mean, I don't know him either, but at least I know what he's capable of."

"Well," Tucker started to dig into his ribs, "whenever you decide to go, you don't _have_ to tell her. I mean, sure, she'll be pretty ticked at you for leaving her out, but if you manage to bring baby Phantom back, I'm sure she'll be cool with it."

"That is probably the biggest_ if _in existence. I'd have to kill Walker first," Danny stated. "Something tells me he wouldn't stay in a thermos for too long. I mean, Jazz, you saw what happened with Wulf. Imagine a ghost with ten times that power. He wouldn't stay trapped for long."

Jazz nodded solemnly. "But in the meantime, we should focus on happier things, like-"

Danny's ghost sense decided to go off at that moment. The green mist poured out of his nose and drifted into Tucker's face. Tucker inhaled some through his own nose and gagged.

"Oh God, dude, that is just _awful_," he choked out. "It smells like-"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Sam butted in. "We're eating," she gestured to hers and Jazz's plates.

Danny was already gone into the bathroom. He was about to transform, but noticed a Nasty Burger patron exit one of the stalls.

"Hello," the man said casually.

"Oh, uh, hey," Danny replied.

Not wanting to draw suspicion, Danny walked over to one of the urinals and pretended to relieve himself. Much to his annoyance, the man was taking an exorbitant amount of time to wash his hands. Danny furrowed his brow as the man began to whistle a tune. He considered telling him to hurry up, but thought better of it. He almost snapped when the man dropped something on the ground and slowly bent over to pick it up.

Reaching his limit of tolerance, Danny turned invisible while the man was distracted and phased through the wall to the outside of the restaurant. He transformed into Phantom, allowing the silver green rings to form at his waist and travel vertically along his body. He cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure Jazz wasn't sneaking up behind him to grab onto the rings as they completed their journey.

Phantom took to the skies, looking for any signs of the ghostly offender.

_So, you guys have been awfully quiet lately, _Phantom thought.

_**It is because we are reveling in your newfound independence. **_

**He might be. I want to DESTROY THINGS!**

_**And that is why we have taught him to be self reliant. We are always here if you need us, but it is good that you are able to operate perfectly fine without our assistance.**_

_Speaking of your assistance, can you help me find this ghost?_

**Do not worry, he will find you before too long.**

_How do you know?_

_**Trust us. We just do.**_

Phantom decided to take them at their word or, rather, _thought_, and continued on. Before long, he was out of the suburbs and right in the heart of Amity Park. The city was still undergoing several repair projects; some from the bounty hunter incident, others from previous ghost attacks. It would be quite a while before the city was ever restored to its original condition; to before Phantom came into existence. The ghost boy continued on his way, keeping his eyes peeled for any ghosts. But after ten minutes of searching, he was beginning to think it was a false alarm.

Suddenly, he felt a tingling feeling on his arm and looked to his side. He saw a flash of motion, too fast to be a bird or some other animal, and grinned as he gave chase. He rounded the corner of the building where the ghost had disappeared, but saw nothing. Another tingle ran up his spine and Phantom spun around, catching another glimpse of the ghost before it disappeared.

The ghost boy felt his temper flare as he sped off after the ghost. He turned onto the street where he knew the ghost had gone down, but realized he had done the same thing as he had done the last time. He spun around faster and saw the ghost before he felt the tingling sensation, this time on his chest.

"You!" Phantom shouted, flying faster so as to not lose the ghost. "Get back here and fight me!"

The ghost leapt off the corner of the building it was perched on and spread its massive wings, taking flight. Phantom flew in, but found that this ghost creature was faster than he was. Not by much, but it was enough to evade him.

"I'm not gonna tell you again, spook," Phantom growled as he managed to get in close.

He wound up a punch and was about to deliver it, but the ghost creature turned to him and let loose an earsplitting wail. Phantom cried out in pain and fell from the sky. He tumbled down through the air, all five hundred feet, and crashed into the pavement. Cars swerved to avoid hitting him and instead slammed into more vehicles. Traffic began to build and angry motorists were exiting their vehicles to express their displeasure. Phantom was about to apologize and fly away, but the ghost animal slammed into him from above, driving him back down into the road.

"Do you like the taste of asphalt, Phantom?" the ghost asked in a hauntingly familiar voice. "Then have your fill!"

"That was a stupid joke," Phantom retorted as he grabbed the ghost by its shoulders and flipped him over his back. "Almost as stupid as your face is ugly. Seriously, what gives?"

"You will soon find that power comes with a price. This disfigurement," the ghost gestured to its face with the bends of its wings, "is but a small price to pay."

"To you, maybe. I'm suffering pretty badly from it over here."

The ghost growled and Phantom fell into a defensive stance. The creature didn't lunge at him, though. Instead, it blasted him with another inhuman screech. Phantom fell to his knees and slammed his palms over his ears.

_What is that?! _

_**It appears to be some kind of . . . ghostly wail.**_

**There is something we must tell you.**

_**That ghost shares forty-five percent of your DNA.**_

_Another clone?_

_**No. I am not certain what it is, but it is not a clone.**_

**He smells familiar, somehow.**

_**Allow us to process this. We shall alert you to this one's identity as soon as we have ascertained it.**_

**While we wait for that most uninteresting development, perhaps you should move to attack. He is a ghost; ghosts do not need air, which means he can sustain that attack forever.**

Phantom struggled against the concussive force of the ghost's sonic bombardment and slowly opened his eyes. His jaw dropped slightly as an eighteen wheeler was lifted off the ground and thrown into the side of a building. Other cars were tossed around like cardboard boxes in a tornado. Whoever this ghost was, his ghostly wail was doing some serious damage.

A parked, unoccupied police car was lifted off the ground and thrown at Phantom. The ghost boy rose to his feet and grabbed onto the car and halted its movement. He held it out in front of him to shield his body from the effects of the ghost's attack, but it wasn't doing very well. Phantom caught sight of a little boy holding onto his pet kitten through a window. The sonic waves wore down the durability of the glass until it shattered, sucking the kitten through the frame and knocking the boy away.

Filled with rage, Phantom tore the squad car in half and charged each section with ectoplasm. He threw the first half with all his might and watched with satisfaction as it slammed into the ghost creature and pinned it to the ground. With its ghostly wail cut off, Phantom moved in for the kill, towing the other half of the squad car with him.

"Very clever, ghost boy, but you-"

Phantom didn't give the ghost time to finish as he descended upon him with the rear end of the car, smashing it into the ghost's upper body. He lifted it up and brought it down again and again and again. The rear end of the car was no longer recognizable as it had been smashed and warped so many times. Phantom tossed it to the side and used his own fists to pummel the ghost down into the crater he had made.

"Is that all you've got?" The ghost's wing smacked Phantom across the head and sent him sprawling into a building. "C'mon, give me a _real_ fight!"

Phantom tore himself away from the wall and hurled himself at the ghost. It stood almost a foot and a half taller than him and was much more muscled. That didn't stop Phantom from clobbering him in the face with his energy-charged fists. It sure didn't slow him down as he expertly dodged the ghost's attacks. And if one was to have stayed to watch the fight, he or she would have said that Phantom used the ghost's larger size and bulk to his advantage. The ghost boy flipped his offender over his shoulder and blasted him in the spine with a ghost ray.

The creature tore itself away from Phantom's beam and circled around to attack again. "You can't kill me, Phantom! I am immortal!"

Phantom grinned and charged his fist with electroplasm. "_Falcon_ . . ." Phantom waited until the ghost was well within range. He then swung his fist forward as hard as he could. "**PUNCH!**" He could hear the bones breaking in both his hand and the other ghost's face as he unleashed his charge of electric energy.

The ghost screeched in pain as it spun through the air. It bounced off a building, snapped through a street lamp and smashed into a car. Glass from the vehicle's windows blossomed out in a circle along with fragments of metal and blood from the creature that was now twitching in the indentation left in the automobile.

Phantom held his wounded hand behind his back as he hovered over the beaten ghost's body. "Had enough? And by 'had enough' I really mean 'GTFO my city, noobcake'."

"You may think that you've won, Phantom," the ghost hissed. It spat out some of its broken teeth mixed with blood and saliva onto the road. "But this was only the beginning."

Phantom laughed. "Where do you guys come from? I swear it's like there's a cliché villain factory somewhere. You come, you cause some trouble, we fight, you say something almost embarrassingly stupid after I beat you senseless, then you shout pointless revenge threats as you fly away to lick your wounds." Phantom wiggled his fingers to be sure his hand had fully healed before he sped down toward the ghost feet first and crushed its body further into the car under the force of his impact. The creature grunted in pain. "Well I'm done letting you guys get off the hook that easily."

"You can kill me if you so desire, it makes little difference. Plasmius doesn't need me; she wants you." Phantom saw the red glow in the ghost's eyes was no longer there. It was replaced by a new pair of very pained, very human eyes. "That's why she did this to me; to test your DNA."

"Are you a clone?" Phantom asked.

"No," the ghost grinned. "Not completely. I am Proximus; the next step in evolution for both humans and ghosts. At least that's what Plasmius says."

"She's wrong-"

"No, she's right!" Proximus exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Your DNA could save billions of lives! Do you realize just what your healing factor does for you? It is not just a get-out-of-death free card, it's so much more!"

"How much more?" Phantom was starting to feel very uneasy.

"You cannot get sick or contract disease. You may have already figured that out, but it goes so much deeper than the common cold." There was an unnerving glimmer behind Proximus' eyes as he stared into Phantom's green ones. "You are immune to cancer, AIDS, smallpox, any and all illnesses do not affect you! Your DNA even goes so far as to prevent you from carrying any of these diseases!"

"Well ok, but how does that help you, or anyone else?" Phantom asked, fearing that he wouldn't like the answer.

Proximus' voice quieted to an even duller whisper. "Any part of you; your hair, your skin, your spit, your blood – anything – carries this DNA. It can be passed on to others! You are the miracle cure that mankind has struggled to find for so many eons!"

"But how? That doesn't make any sense!"

"And that's the beauty of your condition! There isn't anything to understand! No scientific experimentation to do, _nothing!_ It's a guaranteed cure!"

"But look at you! Look at what my DNA did to you!"

"A small price to pay, my friend," Proximus rubbed the side of his face with the bend of his wing. "I am powerful because of you. Your mid morph DNA is the ultimate stem cell! No more controversy! No more bickering while lives are lost! There is only . . . _you!_"

"Wait, my what?"

"Mid morph DNA," Proximus repeated. "It is a sample of your genetic structure taken from your transformation rings. Have you ever noticed that your body completely heals itself once you transform? The rings contain your mid morph DNA."

"And Plasmius got this how?"

"I do not know how she acquired it," Proximus confessed. "But she used it to create the clone that led to the birth of your child. It was also used to accelerate the adaptation of my body to the DNA of a vampire bat, hence my appearance."

"Are there others?" Phantom leaned closer. "More clones like the one I fought in the computer?"

Proximus grinned. "_Thousands more!_" he whispered in a barely audible tone. "An _army_ of Phantoms!"

The ghost boy reeled back in shock. "You're lying!"

"What motivation would I have to lie to you? It is very true, but Plasmius has failed to grasp the reason all her clones will wind up like the first one did."

"And what is that?"

"_You._ Your DNA carries with it your inner goodness; your adamant need to do the right thing. That will, that desire, coupled with the genetic memories of your deeds, passes to each successive clone. Perhaps one day she will realize this, but until then she will continue to create more like you until she has what she wants."

"What? What does she want?"

Proximus laughed. "You will discover the answer in due time. I have already divulged much more information than I intended, but I couldn't help myself. I never fully appreciated you, especially not the last time we met."

"We've met before?" Phantom asked in a confused tone.

"You may remember me as Elliot," the ghost replied.

Phantom gasped before his expression melted into anger and fury. "YOU!"

Phantom grabbed the totaled car Proximus was lying in and threw it out into the fire and wreckage caused by his ghostly wail. The bat monster pushed the car off itself and glared at Phantom.

"Now what on Earth was that for?" he growled.

"You killed Valerie's mother!" Phantom sped at the ground and slammed his fists into the pavement. He concentrated, and his ghost stinger exploded from his hands. Like a glowing green snake, it slithered underneath the road, cracking the pavement along its path. The ghost stinger exploded underneath Proximus and sent him flying into the burning wreckage of another car.

"You're still mad about that?" Proximus leapt from the burning vehicle and landed in front of Phantom. "That was months ago!"

"She hated me for all those months. She made my life hell. That whole incident almost _ruined_ my life; it _did_ ruin hers!" Phantom slammed his fist into Proximus' face. The ghost stumbled back. "Since you disappeared, I was the one who took the blame!" Phantom socked Proximus in the jaw. "All because of YOU!"

Proximus blasted Phantom with his ghostly wail as his fist came in for a third punch. The ghost boy staggered back, clutching at his ears. Thankfully, the attack was short lived.

"You can hate me all you want for that; it is of minimal concern to me. But you have a destiny to fulfill," Proximus grunted and shook his head. He then shut his eyes tightly and groaned through clenched teeth. When he opened his eyes, they were red again. "And I shall see to it that you do your job."

Proximus took to the sky, screeching like the animal he had become and disappeared into the night. Phantom considered following him, but decided against it. Angry and confused Phantom turned to leave. A mewing sound stopped him dead in his tracks. The ghost boy looked over to where the sound was coming from and saw, with a large degree of relief, that the kitten that had been sucked out of its owner's arms was clinging to a tree branch.

The ghost flew over and gently plucked the feline from its perch. The kitten cuddled up in his arms, purring gently taking in the view. Phantom found the broken window and flew up to it, seeing the boy crying in his parents' embrace.

Phantom silently set the kitten down on the floor and flew away. The shouts of happiness reached his ears before he had made it too far and dragged a much needed smile to Phantom's face. Despite everything that his life would throw at him, he knew he had to face it. If he didn't, then who else possibly could?

To Be Continued

_A/N: Well there was the super mega awesome fight I promised. If you know how the episode Maternal Instincts played out, then you'll be able to see where I'm going with this. Expect another scuffle between Phantom and Proximus, only in Proximus' natural habitat. The new evil Skulker is going to make an appearance too, but I don't think Danny's going to discover him until the next segment. _

_Next chapter starts to develop Danny's need for a normal relationship with his family. It also gives insight to the possibility of the infamous TuckerxJazz pairing you all seem to absolutely ADORE so much. Surprisingly, though, there's minimal, if any, DannyxSam in the next chapter. It'll likely come up later. I mean, Sam did date Proximus before. Isn't that spooky?_

_And Skulker doesn't have any weapons? Well that's going to change very soon. If you visit my Deviant Art page, you'll find out just how he equips himself for battle. And you can catch a glimpse of the new, terrifying Ultimate Nocturne!_

_Reviews! I'm not sure who to thank, so I'll thank ALL OF YOU BY NAME. No, that would take too long. Special thanks goes out to_ Shining Zephyr, darkness over day, alienphantom, phantoms-allie, inukagome15, darkbunny92, Cylon One, Acaykath, Mary Blondine, _and my good friend_ Billy D.

**"Not even a _little_ excited?" Betty Ross, The Incredible Hulk**


	95. Paternal Instincts 4

Chapter CIII

Phantom intangibly stuck his head through the wall from outside his house. Satisfied and slightly confused that his parents were still off at the opera, the invisible ghost boy floated the rest of the way into his family room and transformed. The silver-green ring appeared at his waist and split in two. Within seconds, Phantom was sealed away under the disguise of Danny Fenton. Or perhaps it was Phantom that was the disguise.

The teen was too overloaded to think about such things and carelessly flopped down on his couch. The information he had been given made the prospect of turning on the television unappealing. It made the thought of playing video games look dull. It almost made the vibrating of his cell phone in his pocket too insignificant to pay attention to - almost. The boy sighed and dug the mobile communicator from his pocket. He lazily flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Danny?" Sam's voice sounded worried on the other line. "Where are you? We tried to follow you, but-"

"I'm home, Sam," Danny interrupted. "The ghost got away."

"Who was it?"

Danny sighed. "I'll wait to tell you when you get here. I don't like telling stories over again, especially not this kind."

"What's wrong, Danny? Are you hurt?"

Danny grinned at the concern in his friend's voice, but it quickly faded. "No, I'm perfectly _fine_. In fact, I think I'll be perfectly _fine_ until the end of time. That's how perfectly _fine_ I am."

" . . . Danny, I'm the queen of sarcasm around here, don't think I don't know it when I hear it."

"Look, are you guys almost here? I'm about to go to bed. Or blow something up. Either way, I'm not just gonna-"

Danny jumped at the sound of his front door suddenly opening. Tucker and Jazz stood on either side of Sam, who was still holding her phone. "Lay around waiting for us?" Sam finished as she shut her phone and slid it into a pocket in her boot.

"Dude, you totally vamoosed on us back there," Tucker seated himself at the far end of the couch to better observe his friend. "And we saw your little playground while we were looking for you. I've never seen you deal out that much damage before."

"It wasn't me!" Danny exclaimed, suddenly appearing more animated. "It was the other ghost – er, monster . . . thing." He took a deep breath. "The ghost that attacked me used to be Elliot, the spy from the Guys in White. Plasmius must've gotten to his body or something, I don't know, but she mutated him with some of my mid morph DNA-"

"What's that?" Jazz asked as she sat down close to Tucker.

"I guess it's some kind of DNA sample from my transformation rings," Danny explained. "So that means that Jazz wasn't the first one to find out that they were tangible."

"But how did this Plasmius person find out?" Jazz pressed on.

Danny cleared his throat in an attempt to avert his friends' questioning stares. "I don't know," he said finally. "But she found out somehow. The ghost, Proximus, said he doesn't know how she got the sample."

"So Elliot, or Proximus, or whatever he's calling himself now, has some of your DNA?" Sam, who was now seated next to Danny, asked

"Yup. He said Plasmius fused him with bat DNA too-"

"What?" the other three asked in unison.

"I know, it didn't make much sense at first, but he has one of my powers; one I haven't developed yet. The voices said it was my _ghostly wail_, a type of sonic attack that's really effective against ghosts."

"What are you, a pokemon now?" Tucker joked at Danny's explanation. "But this _ghostly wail_, it really did all that damage?"

Danny's face reddened in embarrassment. "Well, you know, not _all_ of it. I may have had some part in it," Danny squirmed under the gazes of his friends and sister. "But he did most of it," the hybrid added quickly.

"So what happened? He just flew away or you caught him in the thermos or something?" Sam asked.

"He just flew away," Danny replied. "I, uh, didn't exactly have a thermos with me."

"Danny, you know better than that!" Jazz scolded. "Why didn't you take one when we left the house?"

"I was too busy keeping an eye on you to make sure you didn't try anything with my best friend," Danny snapped back with a grin.

Jazz blushed. "As if," she rolled her eyes. Then, noting Tucker's slightly downcast expression added, "Not that I wouldn't; just not with _you_ around, Danny."

"You know," Tucker said, pretending not to notice how Jazz was scooting closer to him, "you seem to be taking this relatively well."

"What're you talking about?" Danny asked. "How am I _supposed_ to take the news that Plasmius is cloning me?"

"Well you're not Mr. On-Top-of-the-World now, but you were definitely a bit worse for wear when you got your powers, after Lancer was crippled, when we found out Spectra was a ghost, when Valerie's mom died – it seems like you just got a little more depressed after all your major escapades."

Danny leaned back and let his arms drape over the back of the couch. "I dunno, Tuck. I mean, I can't just let this stuff keep getting to me. Yeah, sure, it's a lot for someone my age to handle, but who else is gonna deal with it if I'm not there?"

"And you decided to realize this now instead of earlier _why?_" Sam asked irritably.

"It just kinda reached its peak I guess," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Why does it matter to you anyway? You're supposed to be the Goth one around here; shouldn't you be upset that I'm not being all gloomy and whatnot anymore?"

"Well it would've probably made our lives easier if you could've just hung out with us instead of brooding on top of skyscrapers."

Danny scowled at Sam. "I don't brood, I think. And sometimes I have conversations with the voices in my head."

"And that'll be my cue to leave," Jazz said as she stood up. "Thanks for letting me tag along with you guys tonight; I had a lot of fun!"

"Don't get used to it," Danny said with a grin.

Jazz returned the expression. "Don't stay up too late, little brother." With that, Danny's older sister ascended the stairs and left the trio alone in the foyer.

"Dude," Danny chuckled, turning his attention to Tucker. "She totally likes you."

"Be that as it may, your behavior regarding the circumstances it rather peculiar," Tucker replied.

Danny blinked. "Huh?"

"Ok, so she might like me. _Might_. If she does, you really aren't living up to the stereotypical brother role. Aren't you supposed to be, like, extremely uncomfortable with that? Maybe even a little angry?"

"Tuck, you haven't seen the stuff I've seen. You don't have to deal with most of what I've had to. When it boils down to it, Jazz can hit on or date or marry any guy she wants. I have homicidal enemies that are trying to kill me at every bend in the road, so you might say that I've got more important things to worry about."

"So if some total sleezeball tries to make a move on Jazz, you won't even care?" Sam asked.

"What are you talking about? Tucker's already done that," Danny replied.

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding, dude," Danny turned his attention back to Sam. "I'd care if that happened. I know Tucker, though. He's no sleezeball, and that's enough for me."

"Well I appreciate the vote of confidence," Tucker said approvingly. "But I just don't think Jazz is my type."

"Why not?" Danny asked. "You two are both super brainiac smart and-"

"And that's reason number one," Tucker interrupted. "Super brainiac smart people might get along for a while, but some long term thing usually tears them apart."

"And you know this _how?_" Sam looked at Tucker with a raised eyebrow.

"Space camp," Tucker replied. "You guys remember I was gone for thesummer last year. Well one of the guys I met there met this girl. Both of them were really smart, although maybe not as smart as me, and they started dating, or whatever you can call _dating_ while you're at space camp. Anyway, I talked to him online and asked him how his love life was going. They broke up about a month after the camp was over

"That's too bad," Sam mocked sympathy. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that they probably lived at opposite ends of the country."

"Whatever!" Tucker threw his arms up in exasperation. "Point is that I really don't think that would be fair to Jazz. Maybe we could work, I don't know. I'm not willing to hurt her just to find out."

"And _that's_ why I would be perfectly fine with Tucker dating my sister," Danny stated contentedly, "even though it would be a little awkward . . .but since his infinite wisdom suggests that such a union would never happen, that leaves Tucker with Star."

"We'll have to continue this conversation another time," Tucker said as the headlights from the Fenton RV shone through the windows from outside. "I don't think I want to be here to listen to the Fenton Family review on Phantom of the Opera."

"Yeah, I'll probably have to skip this one too," Sam added. "See you later, Danny."

Tucker and Sam stood and headed for the back door through the kitchen. The screen door shut just as the front door swung open. Jack looked positively uncomfortable in his tuxedo, although it did make him look quite suave. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Maddie looked to be in her natural element in her little red dress.

" – knew there weren't going to be any ghosts there!" Jack exclaimed, finishing his sentence as he entering the house.

Maddie shook her head. "Jack, there don't have to be ghosts everywhere we go."

"Well it would've made the whole thing more fun to watch," Jack mumbled.

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Make sure you check the ecto-filtrator before you come up to bed, honey," she called down as she climbed the stairs to change into something more appropriate for her suburban home.

"Danny!" Jack beamed at his son, apparently noticing him for the first time. "How was your night?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," his son replied.

"That's great!" Jack picked the mail up off the bureau and began to sift through it with one hand while his other hand expertly undid his bowtie. "Oh, hello now, what's this?"

"What's what?" Danny asked.

"A letter from the Dalv Corporation," Jack continued. "Here, open this for me, will ya?" The burly man tossed the envelope through the air like a pro, nailing his son in the forehead. He hadn't even turned to aim. Maybe that's why Danny was still alive . . .

Danny looked at the Dalv Co. seal on the envelope, trying to jog his memory of where he had heard the name before and why it gave him an uneasy feeling. Shrugging the wariness off, Danny opened the parcel and removed the letter, carelessly tossing the empty envelop on the table.

"_Dear Mr. Jack Fenton_," Danny read. "_We have been monitoring the amount of ghostly activity across the nation for several years now. Amity Park is, undoubtedly, the most active when it comes to ghosts, but it seems that they have been unsuccessful in taking over your city. We believe this to be due, in no small part, to the efforts of you and your wife, Madeline Fenton. We here at the Dalv Corporation would like to congratulate you on your efforts and extend an__invitation to our annual Father/Son fishing/camping/ghost hunting weekend located in sunny Cape Canaveral, Florida. Enclosed is the formal invitation. The Dalv Corporation has done the paperwork for you. We look forward to seeing you there. Signed, the Dalv Corporation._"

Jack had bounded over to the couch and was hovering over his son's shoulder after the first four words had escaped his mouth.

"Well would you look at that!" Jack sat down next to his son and began to read over the letter himself.

"Father/Son fishing/camping/ghost hunting weekend?" Danny repeated suspiciously.

"Cape Canaveral, Florida?" Jack read excitedly in near disbelief.

"Who signs a letter with the name of the _corporation_?" Danny mumbled to himself.

"This is fantastic!" Jack boomed, swiping the letter from his son. He peeled the formal invitation from the back of the letter and smiled. "You and me, Danny, for a whole weekend in Florida! Fishing! Camping! Ghost hunting! I can't wait!"

Danny grinned. "Me neither, Dad. It'll be nice to get away for a while."

"That's my boy!" Jack thundered. "Maddie! Maddie! Look at this!" Jack sprinted up the stairs with surprising speed for a man of his size.

Danny hadn't been lying when he told his father that it would be nice to get away. He was only just coming to terms with his hectic life and the hybrid felt that he could easily sink back into a depression at any given moment, especially with the circumstances surrounding his second son. Or first, depending on how he looked at it chronologically.

Whatever the case would be, Danny couldn't dispel the uneasiness he felt regarding the letter. He tried as hard as he could to remember what about it made him uncomfortable, but it was a fruitless effort. With some degree of irritability, he noticed that his others weren't chiming in to help him. Undoubtedly this was part of their method of making him more self-reliant. With a huff of annoyance, Danny stopped trying to call upon them and headed up to his room. Maybe a few hours of DOOMED II would clear his mind.

* * *

"Well?" Frederick Issak Showenhower looked from the television screen to the seeminglyhuman woman that stood in front of him. "What do you think?"

"I think that your little toy has quite an impressive range if it managed to keep Proximus under control all the way out in California," Vanessa Masters replied as the film started to replay.

Frederick cringed at the remark made about his artifact, but shrugged it off. Normally he would have become angry with any person who disrespected his valued treasures. However, the devilish looking robotic ghost looming over her shoulder made him a much more forgiving person. There was also the matter of her feral bat/human/ghost hybrid that was pacing back and forth . . . on the ceiling.

A faint red light could be seen from the creatures eyes, indicating that the scepter Frederick held in his hand was doing its job. At the moment, Proximus was under his control, but if Vanessa really was a ghost like Walker had told him, she probably had some sort of genetic override that could block his staff's power. He wasn't willing to risk his life to find out.

"Is this enough satisfaction for you to initiate the trade?" Frederick asked hopefully.

"Do not assume Miss Masters is willing to initiate anything with the likes of you, human!" Skulker's vocabulator bellowed his declaration.

"Skulker, please," Vanessa placed a hand on the robot's shoulder and he relaxed. The ghost took several steps back, resuming its role of watchdog. "There is no need to frighten our guest. He comes bearing quite a gift, and asks for mere jewels in return."

Frederick wanted to explode in anger; how dare she insult the power of the Reality Gauntlet? But as a master of acting in the circus, the man did not outwardly appear to have been fazed by the statement.

Vanessa turned and walked away from the door in the spacious den and headed for the large bay window. Skulker was barely a pace behind her. "I do not think I have seen the instrument used to its full potential," the woman said finally as she gazed out over the wilderness of her mountain home. "But you will get the chance to prove its usefulness to me very shortly."

"How shortly?" Frederick asked, moving towards the window as well. He moved slowly, not wanting to startle the Skulker robot; the one that was looking at him with the intent to kill.

"By Saturday, you will be able to set my pet loose against Phantom again," Vanessa explained. "This time, I don't want you to hold Proximus back. Unleash him to the full extent of his power."

Frederick smiled. "But of course, madam. But may I ask, for what purpose?"

"I wish to see what Phantom's DNA is really capable of doing. The ghost child has yet to face off against an equal in combat. His adversaries have either been too weak or too powerful for him, requiring minimal effort or external influence. I am curious to see how Phantom would fare when pitted against his genetic equal."

Frederick nodded. "I understand. And one more question?"

"Speak."

"Yes, well, what if your little beasty manages to beat Phantom? What if he kills the ghost boy?"

Vanessa remained silent for a moment. "I suppose I'll have to cut my losses."

Frederic nodded. "I'll see myself to the guest quarters, then?"

"Yes, very well. Go on."

Frederick bowed and left the room.

"Are you sure he can be trusted?" Skulker asked once the man was out of earshot.

"I trust no one, Skulker," Vanessa replied. "Especially not him. You will stalk the Fentons when they . . . arrive here. You are to protect Daniel and Jack if Proximus proves to be too much of a challenge."

"But I thought you said -"

"Daniel cannot die, Skulker, do you understand me?" Vanessa hissed, turning to glare at her servant. "I cannot predict the outcome of this battle with any degree of accuracy. If Daniel is in danger of perishing, you must save him. Destroy Proximus if you must." Vanessa looked up at the creature, which was now hanging upside down from one of the wooden support beams that ran along the ceiling. "I can always create more like him."

Skulker nodded. "As you command, my master."

Vanessa stared out the window in silence. A storm had quickly swept into the mountain valley and was dumping rain on the forest in sheets. "Daniel has inadvertently fathered two children. Walker is immensely powerful, and we can expect great things from this Amorpho child."

"It seems that the only method of acquiring a perfect Phantom to call your own is to come into possession of the spawn of the ghost boy himself," Skulker observed quietly.

Vanessa looked at her mechanical lapdog. A wicked grin began to spread across her face. Slowly, she turned her head down to look at her own stomach. Her hands slid along her firm, flat belly. "_So it would seem,_" she whispered.

To Be Continued

_A/N: You go ahead and dwell on that. I need to get working on the other chapters amidst my ridiculous (although slightly less ridiculous than usual) work schedule. _

_I was getting confused with myself in previous chapters. I wasn't sure if Freakshow already had the gems or if he had something else. So I looked to make sure and here's what I found. The following is both a reference for you and me._

_Mr. Hunter (Amity's crime lord) gave Freakshow the Eye and Fists of Cronos. Freakshow delivered them to Walker, who then tasked him with retrieving the Reality Gems. Freakshow already has the gauntlet and the power gem. I'll touch more on this later in the segment and a lot in the next one. Bear with me; it isn't nearly as complicated as it may seem._

_Speaking of complicated, I deduced, mathematically, this chapter puts me over 300,000 thousand words. Or something. Hooray for me!_

_Thanks to everyone who reviews, especially_ phantoms-allie, Silverline Scimitar, Goldamon X, Billy D., Bloxham, General Razgriz, darkbunny92, _and_ MissMeliss4251.

**"TIERS ARE FOR QUEERS!" - Tiers Are For Queers video on Youtube.**


	96. Paternal Instincts 5

CIV

It was becoming painfully obvious that Danny was not going to be able to push the object down with his normal human strength. He grimaced as he applied more force, but the action did next to nothing to further his goal. The teenager grunted as he tried to shove it down in a rhythmic pattern, but the object still refused to yield. Danny considered calling upon his spectral strength to accomplish his task, but remembered that he was not alone in his house. His parents could easily walk past his open door during the middle of his transformation, causing all hell to break loose. Finally, with one last growl of desperation, Danny let his tired arms relax. He maneuvered around and sat down on his bed next to his overstuffed suitcase.

"Dad!" he called out in a defeated tone. "Can you come here?"

"Hang on!" the man called back.

Judging by the faintness in his father's voice, Danny determined that he was in his own room, packing his suitcase as well. His suspicions were confirmed as the steady _thud-thud-thud_ of Jack Fenton's footsteps echoed down the hallway. The large man appeared in the doorframe, blocking the hallway like the moon in a solar eclipse.

"What'cha need, son?" Jack asked with a grin on his face.

"I can't shut this stupid thing," Danny complained, gesturing to the suitcase that sat next to him.

Jack approached the object, studying it intently. The "lid" was open at a forty-fivedegree angle. A pile of clothes kept it away from the base. Jack noticed that the first pairs of pants and shirts were nicely folded, but it looked as though his son had given up on tidiness about a third of the way through.

"Danny," he began, "did you take all your dirty clothes and just shove them in here?"

Danny smiled sheepishly. "Well I figured they'd probably get dirty again on the trip anyway," he offered. "Besides, mom's been getting on my case to clean up in here, so I figured I'd kill two ghosts with one stone." Danny sighed and smacked his forehead. "_Birds_," he corrected. "Two _birds_ with one stone."

Jack chuckled. He placed one hand on the top of the suitcase and applied what looked to Danny to be a minimal amount of force. The suitcase closed under the merciless might of Mr. Fenton and Danny quickly sealed the locks. Jack took a step back, leaving Danny to rub the back of his neck, bamboozled.

"Well _that_ was easy," he mumbled.

"I'd hurry up and lug that thing downstairs, Danny," Jack said as he headed back to his own room. "The Dalv people are sending a limo to take us to the airport!"

Danny's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"That's right, a _limo!_ I can't remember the last time I rode in one!" Jack exclaimed as he dragged his massive suitcase through the hall. The _thud-thud-thud_ of his father's footsteps was drowned out by the _**THUMP-THUMP-THUMP**_ of his own luggage as it was dragged down the stairs. "Get a move on, kiddo! Don't wanna make 'em wait!"

Grabbing his suitcase with one hand, Danny took an excited step toward the door. He realized too late that, due to the ridiculous amount of_ stuff_ crammed inside, the bag would be too heavy to casually lift. The weight refused to slide from the bed and Danny jerked back, falling on his posterior. He scowled at his suitcase before letting out another defeated sigh.

"_Dad!_"

* * *

Danny's parents conversed with the driver that had arrived shortly after his father lugged his suitcase down to the foyer. Danny himself sat on the sidewalk with his friends; Sam to his left, Tucker to his right, and Jazz to his right.

"I can't believe you're gonna be gone for a whole weekend," Tucker said sadly.

"You make it sound like I'm moving. I'm just going on a camping/fishing/ghost hunting trip," Danny explained.

"Am I the only one who thinks that sounds the least bit suspicious?" Sam asked irritably. "I mean, come on, the _Dalv Corporation?_ Where'd they come from?"

Tucker's eyes widened. "That's the name of the company that installed the security system in the school! The one that Technus used to lock us in!"

Sam and Jazz gasped. "Ok, fine they were the ones who installed an anti-ghost security system," Danny admitted, finally remembering the name of the company. "But Technus took over it. He was working for Walker, so the two really aren't connected."

"It was installed by ghosts under orders by Plasmius herself!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Ok, how do we know that? Again, Technus was in the system working for Walker. He could've easily planted that in the Dalv system registry or manifest log or whatever they use to keep track of transporting security equipment!" Danny threw up his arms. "It proves nothing!"

"How was it installed overnight, then?" Tucker asked accusingly. "Explain that!"

"Come on, Tuck, we've missed more school in one year, heck, one _semester_, than some kids do in all_ four_ years. You really think they wanted to make us miss even more school because of a security upgrade?"

Tucker shifted uncomfortably on the cement, not because he was wrong, but because Danny was the one who was talking logically. That task usually fell to him. "I guess that make sense," he admitted softly.

"I'm going to be _fine_," he said slowly, looking Sam, Tucker, and Jazz square in the eyes. "And when I come back, we can have a nice little party to celebrate."

"Danny!" Jack boomed from several yards away. "Let's get a move on, son!"

Danny stood up, a grin on his face. His friends and sister stood up with him. "Ok, you guys know the plan for ghosts while I'm away."

"Which is?" Sam asked.

"Let Valerie do all the hunting," Danny said with a wink.

"Very funny, little brother," Jazz gave him a sisterly hug, at which Danny feigned disgust, before heading back into the house. "Keep dad in line!" she called out before disappearing into the home.

"Well, I guess this is it, dude," Tucker clapped Danny on the shoulder. "We'll miss you."

"Knock it off," Danny swatted his friend's hand away. "I'll be back in two days. You won't miss a thing."

"_Don't wanna close my eyes_," Tucker began to sing. "_Don't wanna_-"

"_Listen to you butcher Aerosmith_," Sam finished with her own 'lyrics' and smacked him in the arm. Tucker grinned.

"Please don't let him ruin any more of my favorite bands," Danny pleaded as he wrapped his arms around Sam. "I don't think I'd be able to come back to Amity Park ever again if that happened."

Sam likewise draped her arms over Danny's shoulders. "I'll do my best, but without you around, he'll probably get delusions of grandeur and try to put on a concert."

"I will not!" Tucker protested. "If anything, I'll put this video I now have of you two publicly displaying your affection on the internets. Maybe make a buck or two . . ."

"If you even-" Sam made a move to smack Tucker's PDA down on the pavement, but Danny didn't release his friend. Sam regarded him with a curious look. "Aren't you going to let me pummel him for trying to incriminate us?"

"He's bluffing. He doesn't even have his little machine with him!" Danny looked from Sam's enchanting amethyst eyes to Tucker's widened hazel ones.

Tucker felt around in his pockets. "Oh man," he muttered. "Oh man! I left it at home! How could I-" he darted off in the direction of his home, not even bothering to say goodbye.

Sam giggled at her friend's antics before looking back up at Danny. They both suddenly became aware of the fact that they were still holding each other. "So, I guess you'd better be going then?" Her statement came out as more of a question, as if Danny would shake his head and announce that he'd never leave her.

Instead, Danny nodded and shattered Sam's daydream in the process. "See you in two days?"

"Worst two days of my life," she mumbled. "I mean, you know, _worst _as in _boring_."

Danny felt relieved as his subconscious _others_ finally surfaced to repress the blush that was creeping onto his face. Sam wasn't so lucky to have similar help, and her pale cheeks tinged pink.

"Come on, Danny! You'll see your girlfriend on Monday!" Jack hollered out as he slid into the limousine.

"Bye Sam," Danny said as he stepped back, letting his hands drop to his sides. "Be safe."

"Remember who you're talking to," she replied with a grin.

As he made his way to the limo, the idea of getting away didn't seem so great after all. He entered the sleek black vehicle and slammed the door shut. Once he was safely buckled in, he glanced out the window and saw a clearly downtrodden Sam heading for her house. Sure it would be nice to get away from ghost hunting, but he didn't want to spend his "vacation" fighting ghosts that were leaps and bounds more powerful than he was when he could be spending it with the people he cared about.

_**Do not feel so bad, Daniel.**_

**Yes, you'll see all of them in two days.**

_Glad to see you guys are still alive._

_**I never thought you'd say those words in a sentence; especially not in that order.**_

**He's rejoicing that we have triumphantly returned to him! **

"_Rejoicing" wouldn't be the word I'd use, but thanks for the save back there with the blush thing._

_**Perhaps if you just told Sam that you love her then you wouldn't need to feel embarrassed about blushing when you are in close proximity to her.**_

_I don't love Sam! I mean, like a friend, I do, but not like THAT._

**Ah, see? He knows exactly how he feels! What he wants is Paulina!**

_**Do not be so barbaric. **_

**Who's being barbaric? Is it wrong for Daniel to have feelings for a voluptuous Hispanic female who is clearly interested in him?**

_**No, it is wrong to pursue those feelings when they are not clearly established in his mind.**_

_I think he's right. I'd rather know what I'm doing before I jump into another doomed relationship._

**Daniel, listen to me. You've had two girlfriends so far. Both of those relationships happened so quickly that you barely had time to blink. It is obvious to us that you have some perverse attraction to Sam. I disagree, but I support you in your endeavors – **

_**What lunacy is this?**_

**Hey! Let me finish!**

_**This cannot possibly end well . . .**_

**As I was saying, you clearly have feelings for Sam, but who wants to stumble into romantic involvement with someone when they hardly have any experience on their own?**

_Hey, I have experience!_

**Yes, and you can be on the receiving end of a kiss very well. We know this, and we pity you. We do not, however, wish to make you feel like crap. **

_You're doing a great job of that . . ._

**So what we shall do is help you procure Paulina as a temporary mate; a mistress if you will. Then you can break up with her and begin courting Sam, which should take all of ten seconds before she turns to goo in your arms. With your experience, you will sweep her off her feet and give new meaning to the phrase "happily ever after". **

_That sounds like a fantastic plan. Really, I'm glad you guys have been using your time to plan out my future love life. I mean, who cares that Plasmius is making an army of me's to take over the world or some such nonsense? Who cares that she's becoming creepier and creepier with each passing encounter? And let's not forget that Walker's still out there somewhere with my other son, twisting his mind so that he'll hate me when he grows up. Hooking me up with girls is much, much more important._

**. . . That was sarcasm, wasn-**

_YES, IT WAS SARCASM!_

_**Relax, Daniel. I am unsure as to why Folium takes pleasure in plotting for a future where we won't be involved, but I have been busy working on methods you can use to defeat this new Proximus creature. It may not be a permanent solution to your problems, but at least you'll be rid of this one.**_

_Well at least one of you is making the best out of the space you're hogging in my brain._

_**We can discuss this more in detail on the plane where your father will likely fall asleep. He has been rambling on about how much fun this trip is going to be and is in the process of asking you what you think of it. The instant I finish communicating to you, say "it's gonna be the best time I've had in a while, Dad".**_

"It's gonna be the best time I've had in a while, Dad." Danny said on command.

Jack beamed at his son. "I know I haven't always been there for you, and I know the work your mother and I do doesn't always make sense, but I just want you to know that I love you and I couldn't be more proud of the man you're growing up to be."

"And I want you to know that you and mom have been there enough, and that you're great parents. And I wouldn't trade you guys for anyone else in the world."

Jack wrapped a large arm around his son and pulled him into a sideways hug. "I'm gonna catch some shuteye. Airport's about an hour and a half away, so wake me up when we're almost there, ok?"

"Sure thing," Danny said with a nod. Several minutes later, Danny heard the faint sounds of his father's light snoring; the man was sound asleep.

**You are a good son. I would be proud to be able to claim you as my own.**

_Uh, aren't I older than you?_

_**You are older than our sentience, but our very being is as ageless as age and as timeless as time.**_

_So basically, you have no idea how old you are?_

**No, we don't.**

_Figured. Well I'm gonna try to sleep too. Wake me up before we get there so I can wake my Dad._

_**As you wish.**_

Within minutes, Danny too was sound asleep.

* * *

Plasmius grinned at the image displayed before her. The Fentons, her Fentons, had just exited the Dalv Corporation limousine and were casually entering the airport. The Dalv security agent that had greeted them allowed the two men to pass through the building without so much as having to blink in the direction of a metal detector. That was definitely for the best; there was probably more metal than man on Jack Fenton's person.

"Master," Skulker's hushed voice came from the shadows of the room behind her. "The Fenton residence is unprotected. Madeline and Jasmine Fenton are defenseless."

"Do not underestimate Maddie's skill," Plasmius warned. "She may be a harlot, but her ghost fighting abilities surpass Jack's by leaps and bounds."

Skulker bowed his head. "I do not mean to question you, my master," the robot apologized. "I merely meant to convey that Daniel is no longer there to protect them."

"A fact that I'm well aware of." Plasmius turned to face her servant.

"Shall I release the hounds? Or perhaps the winged fire spiders? Maybe you would prefer to see them dissolved from the inside out by the aphid-squids?"

"No. I'm saving them for our visitors. I want you to personally engage the female Fentons."

Skulker reeled back in silence. "Such an honor . . . I am hardly worthy!"

"Oh stop," Plasmius rolled her eyes. Of course, they were eyes were a solid red color that covered the whites and pupils, and the action went unregistered by her mechanical lap dog. "Find them, engage them and, if you are able, kill them."

"You would kill her so soon?" Skulker asked worriedly. "Your plan could crumble before it ever reaches fruition!"

"I hardly see it as a hindrance. It could go a long way to accelerate what I hope to achieve. And if she is not killed, I can easily see to that later," she explained.

Skulker nodded. "I shall proceed to Amity Park at once." The robot turned to leave, but paused. "I do have one question, though."

"Yes?"

"How would you like Madeline's body presented to you upon her death?"

Plasmius smiled wickedly. "Surprise me."

The sound of Skulker's refined teleportation sequence alerted the ghost woman to the fact that she was now alone in her laboratory. She continued to monitor the movements of Jack and Daniel Fenton as they finally boarded their airplane. Unbeknownst to the two, the plane was empty except for them. Everyone else on board was either ghosts using enhanced anti-detection mechanisms or holograms. The pilot and co-pilot were actually Hank and Harold; the two remaining ghost condors. The others had conveniently overslept. Plasmius sneered. She knew that it would have been cheaper and much less expensive to simply allow the passengers to board the flight, but in her "good" mood surrounding the circumstances, she just couldn't bring herself to cause the deaths of dozens of anonymous innocents.

"Technus," she snapped, trying to distract herself from her act of compassion, "update me on the status of Walker and his brother."

"I've already told you," the techno-ghost replied in a bored tone. "The infant's name is Amorpho."

"I could care less as to what Walker has named the child. I want to know what they're doing!"

An audible sigh could be heard from the multiple speakers that jutted from the walls of the room. "Allow me to – oh my, now this is interesting!"

Plasmius' head swiveled around one hundred eighty degreesto glare at the main computer where Technus resided. "What is?"

"Why, if these readings are correct, then Walker and Amorpho are . . . doing exactly what they were doing the last time you asked me twenty minutes ago! And twenty minutes before that!"

Plasmius' body rotated to match up with the direction of her face. "Do not speak to me in that manner, you sniveling coward! You're lucky I allow you to live after siding with that maniac upon your release from the Guys in White!"

"I had little choice in the matter. And if you desire my respect, then perhaps you should simply accept that Walker is not ready to set his plan in motion! He's calculating, plotting, planning, biding his time; he's waiting for the right moment to strike! Believe me when I say that we will know when Walker makes his move. He is not the most subtle of ghosts."

Plasmius rubbed her elbows. "That's very true . . ."

"You need to focus on your mission if you are to succeed. Allow me to monitor Walker. I'll notify you the instant he does something besides drawing up battle strategies, petting Wulf, playing with Amorpho, or being completely oblivious to Desiree's attraction to him."

Plasmius raised her eye at the last remark. "Indeed?"

"Indeed. You should leave now. The wilderness of Colorado calls for your evil genius."

"I'm not evil," the hybrid retorted. "Morality is a matter of perception. Besides, like you have any room to talk."

Technus grunted before retreating back into the computer system, leaving Plasmius alone again; this time to dwell on her current state. Genius? Yes. Evil? The ghost woman watched as the plane took off from the airport where its flight would send the only two real passengers to their destiny. But she had spared the others, hadn't she? Or had it only been a sporadic act of mercy that sprang from her eagerness over the upcoming events? She wasn't evil; her actions were perfectly justified.

She wasn't evil . . . was she?

To Be Continued

_A/N: Plasmius doesn't think she's evil? Hmm. Then again, the bad guys only think they're bad in cartoons. But IRL, good and evil isn't always black and white._

_Next chapter gets more interesting. Lots of stuff happens. Incidentally, not a lot happens here. I really can't think of anything to say. Maybe I can do a mini-poll using my reviewers! I'll do that. What do you think of the new Transformers movie title _"Revenge of the Fallen"_? Since I still want to give you a chance to vote in my poll that can be found at the tippy top of my bio page, you can cast your ballot for "It sucks" or "I love it" in your review. I'm curious to hear what you think._

_And I have yet another new project that will sap time from UDP. I know, I know, you've had enough of my procrastination. I apologize, but hopefully these two won't overlap so much._

_Super much many thanks to Cordria for beta-ing. _

_That's about it. Thanks to all my reviewers, especially _Cordria_, _phantoms-allie, darkbunny92, inukagome15, MissMeliss4251, Thunderstorm101, Vorago Atrox, _and _General Razgriz.

_By the way, that "Tiers are for Queers" video I said was on youtube . . . well, it is on youtube, but a very reliable source has informed me that it was originally on newgrounds. I recommend going there to properly give credit to the original source and because it's in much better quality._

**"THEY'RE EATING HER! AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA EAT ME! OH MY GAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWD!"  
- _I have no idea. Please tell me, I really want to know where this is from._**


	97. Paternal Instincts 6

Chapter CV

"_This is amazing!" _

"_Whoa, whoa! We- we're flying! We're FLYING!" _

_Danny struggled to maintain his focus as his body ascended through the air and he felt a strange sensation in his chest. His heart, which normally sat still and unmoving in ghost mode, was vigorously pounding_

"_Ok Danny, you don't want to overdo it on the first try. You just got these powers yesterday and we don't know how high you can actually go." _

_A slow, steady breath was pulled in through the ghost boy's mouth. His slightly shaking body relaxed somewhat and he continued rising, although his pace had slowed. He was now hovering twenty feet up off the roof of Samantha Manson's house. Had Danny been awake, he would have smiled at the memory that was playing before his dreaming eyes. But as it happened, the reverie of his first flight was cut short as his dream took a different route. _

_An earthquake of an impossible magnitude shook the earth with unrivaled strength. The very sky vibrated, as if trembling with fear. Danny watched the entire town crumble as the quake tore every building apart from their foundations. Even nature itself was wrought with destruction. Trees and rocks fell into fissures with the remains of the once great civilizations that had conquered the planet._

_Danny heard an inhuman cackle echo up from the gaping chasm that had opened beneath him. He dared to look down into the wound in the earth and felt his limbs go numb. Two red eyes stared back up at him. Danny knew those eyes. He knew the face that appeared shortly thereafter. Plasmius opened her mouth wide and roared an absolutely evil laugh. It was then Danny realized he had dropped Samantha from his arms in his moment of shock. He watched helplessly as her body tumbled into the vampire woman's open mouth. _

"_Danny!" Plasmius' voice thundered._

_He couldn't respond. He wanted so desperately to save Sam, but he knew it was already too late._

"_Danny!" Plasmius called out again, this time the voice was closer, louder, more pronounced._

_The teen wanted nothing more than to silence that voice, but he couldn't move; he couldn't even speak. _

"_Son!"_

"_Don't you EVER call me that!" Danny spat, finally finding his voice. _

"_Son, wake up!"_

* * *

Danny's eyes snapped open to the sight of a dimly lit first class section of the plane's passenger cabin. A red flashing light was blinking from overheadand a siren was obnoxiously blaring at him from somewhere overhead. He sluggishly turned to his side to see the panicky, terrified face of his father staring at him.

"Danny! Thank God you're awake!" Jack exclaimed with relief.

"Dad, what's going . . ." The teenager's eyes widened in anxiety. "Where'd everybody go?"

"If I had to guess, there never was anyone else here." Jack's large fist unfolded in front of Danny's face revealing a strange circular object. "Hologram projector," he explained, "I found a whole bunch of them all over the plane."

"So everyone was a hologram? That doesn't make any sense!"

"I'm working on it," Jack mumbled. "I'm also working on how to get us out of here before we die in a horrible explosion of painful fire and superheated plane parts."

_Well the secret identity was nice while it lasted_, Danny thought. "Dad, I think I might-"

"Danny, look! Parachutes!" Jack hollered.

Danny leaned out into the aisle and raised an eyebrow at the image of his father lugging two huge packages from the cockpit. The fact that his father had quickly sprinted from his seat to the cockpit surprised him, but the parachutes his father held piqued his interest just a smidgen more. Probably due in no small part to the his name being printed on one of them. Jack wasted no time in strapping the parachute to Danny's back.

"Uh, Dad?"

"No time to talk now, Danny, we've gotta get out of here!"

"Well it's just that this was obviously a trap."

"Gee, you think?"

Danny scowled at his father's sarcasm. "Then do you really think it's such a good idea to use gear specifically designated for us?"

Jack paused securing his own parachute and rubbed his chin. "That's a good point . . ."

"So? We take them or not?"

"We're either going to die in an explosion, die when the parachutes don't deploy, or we live when they work. Since I'm not a big fan of dying in explosions, we're gonna try the 'chutes."

Jack bounded over to the emergency exit and kicked it open after he had unsealed it. The man took a deep breath and leapt out into the cloudy sky without another word. Danny sighed and followed along behind him. Freefalling through the sky didn't affect Danny nearly as much as it would affect any other fourteen year old, but there was something about not using his powers that made the leap all the more significant.The wind whipped at his face, sending his hair into a tizzy as he descended through the sky. He wasn't quite heavy enough to catch up with his father, which turned out to be a blessing when his father's parachute deployed. DALV CO. was imprinted on the fabric. Danny scowled and used his ghost powers to safely maneuver far enough away from his father to deploy his own parachute.

"Well how do you like that?" Jack shouted over to his son. "There's a cabin! Can you see it, Danny?"

It took several seconds of squinting his eyes in different positions, but eventually the speck at the end of Danny's field of vision became more of an architecturally influenced speck. He could tell it was a house of some sort; or at least he thought he could tell.

"Looks like today's our lucky day!" Jack proclaimed.

"Something tells me _luck_ had nothing to do with it," Danny mumbled.

* * *

A gentle breeze drifted over the buildings of Amity Park. Flocks of birds used the draft to glide in formation to the next tree or power line or parking lot. Litter was picked up for but a moment before being set back down. A plastic bag was caught up in the invisible force and carried to the top of a home. Striking like lightning, a clawed metallic fist materialized out of thin air and snatched the bag from its course. Skulker tried to charge his fist with ectoplasm in order to destroy the bag for blocking his surveillance, but to his disappointment, not even a faint green glow appeared around his fist. With a sigh, the robot released the bag and allowed it to carry on its journey.

Turning his head to his left, Skulker took in the sight of his personal attack hounds. The three dogs were fearsome beasts capable of dealing out more damage than any of Plasmius' mutations. The spirits that sat at his heels were those of the first domesticated prehistoric canines. It appeared that such animals back then were much, much bigger than their descendants. One of the hounds could easily take down a fully grown grizzly bear. That being said, Skulker had considered only bringing along one of his loyal attack dogs, but his curiosity got the better of him; Skulker wanted to see them work as a team.

Skulker leaned forward, his single eye gleaming as he watched an unexpected guest walk up to the front door of his target's residence. The young Samantha Manson, the mate of the ghost child, had decided to pay the Fenton women a visit.If Skulker had a mouth, he would have grinned. Three hounds to stalk and prey upon three defenseless females; the timing could not have been more perfect. Skulker turned to his hounds and emitted a low whine. The canines each selected a target, telepathically communicating with one another and with Skulker as they each chose an individual female. Another whine of a different pitch came from Skulker's audio communicator and the hounds became invisible, setting off to stalk their prey.

"To the hunt!"

* * *

"Well that wasn't very fun," Danny mumbled after his slow descent had ended. His parachute had carried him a considerable distance away from his father and the teen now found himself dangling from a rocky outcropping just beside a waterfall."Maybe it would've been easier to just go ghost."

**NO! You could have revealed yourself to your father! **

_**Unlikely, but it could have happened.**_

_Guys, relax. The important thing is that I didn't have to. Now all I have to do is phase out of this stupid parachute and I can go find my Dad._

**That might not be possible.**

_Why?_

_**The fabric of this parachute has been coated with an anti-ghost resin. You will not be able to escape it through ghostly means. **_

_So what do you suggest?_

**STRUGGLE AGAINST THIS INFERNAL DEVICE UNTIL IT YEILDS UNDER YOUR POWER!**

_**OR he can remain where he is and wait for his father to arrive and free him. The view is unarguably pleasant.**_

**He is a TARGET out here in the wilderness!**

_A target to what? Regular animals can't hurt me. _

_**You know that this is not a simple plane crash. We are nowhere near Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is Colorado. The father/son trip was a ploy used by the Dalv Corporation to lure you and your father here. **_

_But why?_

_**Plasmius hired the Dalv Corporation to install that new security system in Casper High. It is the same one that Technus infiltrated, which resulted in the birth of your second illegitimate son.**_

**There is an undeniable connection between the two. She is likely waiting for you.**

_Why would she go through all the trouble to draw me out here? _

The unwelcome feeling of the others' recession was what Danny received for an answer. "Oh, thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate it. This is that whole 'teach me independence' bull crap isn't it? Well I'll remind you that if I die because of you, you die too!"

"Why would you die because of me? I'm your father! I'd never do anything to get you killed!" Jack shouted down to his son.

Danny gasped and looked up with a winning smile. "Dad! How'd you find me?"

"I saw your parachute," the large man explained as he began to pull Danny up to the ledge. "And your blathering gave you away too."

"You, uh, heard?"

"Just noises. I don't like to eavesdrop on my family's private conversations with themselves."

Danny rolled his eyes and set his feet down on the ground as his father finally pulled him up off the edge of the cliff. His father cut the parachute's tangled straps with a hunting knife that had been stashed away somewhere in his jumpsuit.

"Danny, there's something you should know . . . other than the fact that our plane was sabotaged and we're stranded out here in the wilderness. We're nowhere near Florida. In fact, I'd say we're still in the north."

"Yeah, like Colorado," Danny said absently. He loudly cleared his throat after seeing the strange look his father was giving him. "Or, you know, somewhere . . . else."

Jack sent his son a suspicious look."Right. Well we better get going."

"Going where, that cabin? Are you sure it was really a cabin?" Danny stated.

"My eyes never lies," Jack said with a grin. "We didn't have the best view. Our plane was too low while we were flying through the mountains. If we can reach the top of that ridge," he pointed a gloved finger to the top of the nearest mountain, "we should have a better chance to get our bearings and maybe find out if what we saw was actually a cabin."

"That's gonna be a long hike," Danny began, "maybe we should make camp; you know, start tomorrow."

Jack's expression turned from jovially anxious to dead serious. "No."

"No?" Danny repeated.

"No. There's something off about this place."

Danny looked from one side to the other. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Listen."

With a sigh, Danny closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of the forest; the singing of the birds, the buzzing of the bees, the chirping, squawking, hissing, rustling sound that was Mother Nature. But Danny's eyes widened in started realization. There were none of those noises. No living creature dared to sound its call. Only the gentle mountainous breeze occasionally wafted through the trees, as though searching for the fauna that once frolicked amongst the leaves and branches. The waterfall roared in defiance of the absence of life, sounding the calls of every creature at once.

"There's nothing here," Danny whispered.

"Exactly." Jack said in an equally low tone.

"So what does that mean?"

"I've only been in a situation like this twice before. Once was when I forgot your mother's birthday last year . . ." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "The other time was when I was exploring the wilds in Siberia. There had been rumors of a strange creature committing grisly murders, so they called your mother and me in to investigate. It turned out to be a ghost lizard."

"That's it?"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "A twenty-five foot long bearded dragon that breathed fire."

"Oh."

"Would've been nice to have the Fenton Thermos back then, but we-" Jack's reminiscing was cut short by a spine-tingling shriek.

Danny looked from the direction of the all-too-familiar wail to his father. "Time to move?"

"Time to move."

* * *

"So Mom," Jazz sat on the lab table next to her mother's invention, "what are we gonna do while Danny and Dad are gone?"

"I thought you could help me with the new neural interface I've been working on for the ecto-suit," Maddie replied. "I would've been working on it earlier, but you know your father; once he finishes something he never wants to change it."

"I'm glad you finally have a chance to work on something you made instead of just fixing Dad's inventions," Jazz commented as she hopped off the table and began examining the ecto-suit.

"Um, Mrs. Fenton? Jazz? Are you down there?" Sam's voice called out from upstairs.

"What'cha need, Sam?" Jazz shouted back.

"I think I left my purse down here," Sam said as she descended the stairwell. "Well actually, I don't even think I had it with me the last time I was over here, but I'd rather make sure before I ask my parents if they've seen it. My mom freaks out whenever I lose my purse."

Jazz looked from Sam to the large pile of equipment that sat on one of the wall-mounted counters. "Dad decided to clean up before he left for the trip. If your purse was down here, it's probably underneath all this." Jazz grabbed a battery pack for the Fenton Foamer, but sent the whole mountain of gear tumbling to the ground. One of the devices bounced off the floor and slammed into a panel on the wall. One by one, the lights in the lab went out, followed by every other electrical device. The three women were plunged into darkness with only the ambient green light of the ghost portal to light their way.

"I know I'm going to sound like Dad when I say this, but that was definitely not my fault," Jazz spoke up.

"It wasn't an accident either," Maddie replied coolly. The mother ran over to the damaged control panel and pressed a button. A red light winked on, and a row of emergency lights blinked on from the corners of the room. Mrs. Fenton hit another button and the floor beneath her lit up in a circular pattern. "Op Center, online," Maddie commanded. The lights flickered for a moment, but stabilized and the woman sighed with relief. "Girls, get over here." Sam and Jazz gathered around the older woman as she continued to punch commands into the tiny panel. "This is an experimental elevator system I've been working on. Jack always wanted to use it to catapult exploding cannonballs into the sky, but I think I found a more practical use for it."

"How's an elevator going to get the power back on?" Sam asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"If this works, I should be able to access the emergency back-up power," Maddie replied, not detecting the cynicism in the Goth girl's tone. "Three to the Op Center," she commanded the panel.

After several seconds of nothing happening, Sam shifted her weight from one foot to the other and cleared her throat obnoxiously loud. "Hmm. So, like, is it supposed to not work?"

Jazz elbowed Sam in the ribs. "Maybe it's because the power is-"

Suddenly, the three females were vacuumed up into a hole that opened in the ceiling. The current of air carried them from the basement through the first and second floors of the houseand into the super-modern Op Center. Sam stumbled from the "elevator" and nearly fell to the floor. Her hand reached out and grabbed onto a knob and helped to steady her. Sam's awkward position - frozen in a falling over state – was illuminated with the rest of the Op Center as the emergency lights blinked on.

"Well whaddya know," Sam mumbled as she righted herself. "It really does work."

"I'll try to see why the power's out," Maddie said. She sat down in a computer chair and pushed herself over to a console, allowing the chair's momentum to slide her over. "Well that's odd," the woman commented as her fingers glided over the computer's buttons. "Everything looks fine." Maddie noted the confused looks on the girls' faces. "The Op Center has a monitor system that keeps tabs on the whole house," she explained. "If something is wrong, the computer would notify me."

"Well something's obviously wrong, otherwise we'd have electricity," Sam said. "Maybe the computer's broken."

"Well your attitude sure isn't helping things along," Jazz hissed.

"Either Sam is right," Maddie continued to examine the console, "or something else cut the power; something the computer can't detect."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Really? What possibly could have done it?"

"A computer virus," Maddie replied.

Jazz smirked at Sam's uncomfortable silence. "Oh . . . I mean, I was gonna say 'ghost', but you know. Computer virus sounds right too."

Sam growled and moved over to the window to avoid Jazz's smirk. Jazz, silently leaned over her mother's shoulder, pointing to a line of text on the screen as Sam rolled her eyes, looking out the window. All up and down the street, power flickered on and off. One street light about a block away flashed a few times like a lightning bug before flaring, bits of glass falling to the street. Sam took a few steps towards the window, watching the scene in fascination. She turned around to tell the Fentons to look, but she felt something. Her hand came up to the back of her neck just as a tingly feeling spread from the base of her neck to the back of her head. She looked over her shoulder – there was nothing there, but Sam wasn't so easily convinced.

Maddie peered at the computer screen, ignoring her daughter's unhelpful comments and Sam's small sigh of exasperation. There, on the screen, were some strange dots. They flickered in the house, appearing and disappearing on the old ghost radar. Three dots, moving slowly through the rooms on the lower level. She blinked, sitting up a little straighter, her eyes narrowed behind her goggles. "Ghosts."

Two houses away, Skulker dialed a button on his visor and zoomed in on the Op Center. Inside, he could see the two younger females standing and looking around, the older one sitting before a computer. All of them looked worried – as they should. Anticipation swelled in Skulker's chest as he let out a small, high-pitched whine. Inside the house, his three hounds reacted instantly, turning from their search of the basement and beginning to stalk up the steps towards the Op Center.

To Be Continued

_A/N: So you're all like "oh mai gawd, u died!" Well I didn't. Work is terrible. Avoid employment as long as you can. I hope you like this chapter. Super special thanks to Cordria for beta-ing it._

_Thanks to all my reviewers, especially_ General Razgriz, inukagome15, Vorago Atrox, darkbunny92, Perspective, darkness over day, MissMeliss4251, Akemi Clevek, Shining Zephyr, alienphantom, _and_ CyberArcRotarr.

_By the way, go see The Dark Knight. Seriously, it's one of the greatest movies ever created._

**SAY GOODBYE TO THE UNIVERSE, MAXIMALS! - Megatron.**


	98. Paternal Instincts 7

Chapter CVI

The high altitude of the nameless mountain was surrounded by an invisible veil of thin air. The minimal amounts of oxygen were suitable for the various creatures that had evolved to survive in such conditions. Sadly, that was not the case for humans. "Dad!" Danny choked out. "I'm not gonna make it. Go on . . . without me . . ."

With a roll of his eyes, Jack Fenton reached down and tossed his son over his shoulder. "See that cliff over there?"

Danny twisted his body around to look at where his father's finger was pointing. "I can't see anything," he whispered. "Not enough oxygen."

"If there's a cabin out here, we'll definitely be able to see it from there."

"Or we'll die before we get there," Danny replied sadly.

Jack huffed and continued onward. "So how's school?"

"Dad, as much as I'd love to make small talk, I really need some oxygen," Danny coughed, adding more emphasis to his weakened appearance. "Or you'll be the only one getting out of here alive."

"You are such a drama queen," Jack mumbled irritably.

"Don't you mean king?"

"No!"

Danny pouted. "Are we almost there?"

With a grunt, Jack hoisted his son from his shoulder with one hand and set him on the ground. Danny turned around and gasped as the sight of a valley came into view. Rocky outcroppings poked out in random locations like pimples on an otherwise flawless face. The tops of trees melded together to form an ocean of green foliage. And there, dead in the center of it all, was a lonely building. Lonely can describe many things, but it does not necessarily have to describe something small. The lonely building in the middle of the small valley was massive, easily three times as large as the Fenton's own home.

"A cabin?" Danny asked. "More like a mansion."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but the shrill cry from earlier echoed around the valley again, only it sounded closer. "It's gonna get dark really quick, we need to find some place to stay for the night."

"Well let's just go to the cabin," Danny offered.

"That's at least a five hour hike, and by the looks of it," Jack squinted his eyes against the glare of the setting sun, "we have about two hours tops before we're stuck out here with whatever that thing is."

Danny tore his eyes away from the cabin. Something about it made him feel anxious, but he just couldn't pin it down. "Well where are we gonna go?"

"There!" Jack boomed, pointing a finger down the rocky trail that led into the valley. The worried expression on his face was now the excited smile Danny had become accustomed to, and for good reason. The trail hugged the side of the cliff edge all the way down to the valley. The mouth of a cave was easily visible along the rocky wall. "We'll be safe there for the night," Jack said cheerily as he picked up his pace from earlier.

"Yeah, right," Danny rolled his eyes and grudgingly followed along behind the hulking figure of Jack Fenton.

_**We have successfully completed our analysis of the animal's cry.**_

_I never told you to do that._

**Well we did it ANYWAY!**

_**The sonic vibrations match those of Proximus with only a point-oh-two percent chance of inaccuracy.**_

_Well that's just fantastic. _

_**Thank you. **_

_Do you think he'll attack us?_

**Undoubtedly. He has been reborn for the purpose of destroying you. **

_**But he is Plasmius' creation, she would not want to destroy Daniel. At least not now.**_

_None of this is making me feel any better. _

**And it shouldn't. You may be his equal in combat, but your father is not endowed with ghost powers. He will be a liability to you in the coming fight.**

_Then I better hope he doesn't get involved._

**You don't get it, do you? He already is. **

_What?_

For the second time that day, Danny's others answered him with silence. It was beginning to irritate him. "Jerks."

* * *

"Ok, now all I need to do is reroute access to the security system to this console and I should be able to get power back to the rest of the-" A low whine sounded from somewhere else in the house and steadily lowered in pitch until fading away completely. The emergency lights flickered and died as well. "-house," Maddie mumbled.

Jazz looked back and forth uneasily. "That isn't good, is it?"

"Why wouldn't the failure of the emergency power grid be a good thing?" Sam asked in a sarcastic tone.

Jazz spun around and glared at Sam. "Do not push me, Sammy-kins. If there is ever a time for you to keep those black lips of yours shut, this is it."

Sam glared right back at the older girl while thinking of more venom-filled words to spit back at her, but her irritability and urge to make sarcastic remarks faded. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I tend to pump out more sarcasm than usual when I'm nervous."

Jazz sighed. "Yeah, well," a creak from one of the floorboards downstairs sent shivers up the girl's spine, "try to keep it in check today."

"I can say for the first time since watching that Aqua Teen show that I have no idea what's going on," Maddie reported as she pushed her chair away from the computer and stood up. "The computer didn't detect any viruses, but it was still taken down."

"Was it a ghost?" Jazz looked from Sam to her mother.

"Possibly, although it seems rather superfluous for a ghost to take down the power on a whole city block just to get to us," Maddie replied.

"Ok, I know that you're the ghost hunting family and all, but why does everything that happens have to be ghost-related and have to revolve around you?" Sam spoke up.

Maddie and Jazz exchanged confused looks and shrugged. "Who would be targeting anyone on this block? And for that matter, who else would be targeting someone on this block other than a ghost?" The older of the two asked.

"Ok, I'm not saying that they aren't ghosts and I'm not saying they aren't after you, but, you know," Sam rubbed her forearm, hanging her head in embarrassment. "It might not be either-or next time."

"Duly noted," Maddie remarked with a wry smile.

Another creak echoed up from beneath the Op Center. Sam and Jazz looked from each other to the door leading down into the household. "I take it your house isn't still settling?" Sam offered.

"I wish."

"Girls, I need you to do me a favor," Maddie announced from her seat.

"Please don't tell me we have to go down into the lab and do something involving the circuit breaker,"Sam looked at Mrs. Fenton with a pained expression. She already knew the answer. "The pretty white girls always die doing something like that!"

"Then it's a good thing you won't be going down there unarmed," Maddie handed each of them flashlights. "These double as high-powered ecto-tasers. Just hold the button down and press it forward to activate it. Now get going. We can't just sit up here forever."

Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Jazz grabbed her arm and dragged her down the stairs before the Op Center could be filled with any more sarcasm. The house was even darker than Sam had anticipated and the fading daylight did little to improve her vision. Both girls ventured down into the house, flashlights in hand, unaware of the lupine eyes that hungrily followed them.

* * *

Skulkershifted his weight from one boot to the other for the umpteenth time that minute. His strategic mind for small-scale infiltration was unmatched, even without Kaine Manson. Still, Skulker never enjoyed sending others to do his own work. He would much rather be in there alone instead of risking the afterlives of his loyal hounds. The thrill of the hunt was something that Kaine had suppressed during his reign as the dominant consciousness. The new Skulker reveled in it. His sensory equipment was so sensitive that he was able to detect the fear in his prey. He could use this advantage to accurately predict his quarry's movements and manipulate them into going exactly where he wanted in order to set up the perfect scenario for capture or elimination.

His vocabulator emitted an angry grumble. There was no reason to risk the lives of his hounds for such a perfect stalking opportunity. Sure, it had been his idea to send them in to begin with, but the hunter was very fickle. Perhaps it was an adopted trait from spending so much time in Plasmius' employ. The woman had wanted him to protect Daniel in the event that Proximus was able to best the ghost boy, then she had flip-flopped and sent him to eliminate the Fenton women while her targets were away from home. Skulker had no idea why she had changed her mind, but he was not the kind of ghost that questioned orders. That was Kaine's forte, and it hadn't worked very well for the old mercenary.

The hunter telepathically sent new commands to his hounds, who replied with obvious dismay. The familiar feeling of pride swelled within his armor. The ancient canines loved the hunt as much as he did and, just like their master, they hated to be denied the kill. The dogs respected their master, though, and moved into their new positions. Skulker finished relaying his orders and leapt from the building with his powerful robotic legs. It was not as effective as flight, but jumping still served a useful purpose. The hulking, demonic robot landed atop the complex across the street from the Fenton household and examined the building's schematics as he had done several times before.

Skulker's concentrated EMP wave had effectively disabled all electronic equipment on the whole city block. The other houses' now destroyed power systems could be chalked up as casualties of war. Skulker's intended target, the Fenton house, had been plunged into darkness.It was the perfect time to strike and, if any of the movies Skulker had watched maintained any semblance of realism, one or more of the females would venture down into the basement laboratory to try to fix the problem. Hollywood had a strange way of using everyday actions as a means of bringing one's death upon oneself, but Skulker was not about to complain. His thermal imaging visor showed two figures moving right for the basement. One was still in the Op Center. Skulker leapt from the roof of the house he stood on and landed on the sidewalk just outside the Fenton's door. Seeing that the two young women were now in the basement, Skulker slammed a fist into the wooden door. The blow sent the remains splintering into the foyer and the robot confidently strode inside.

His primary target was up in the Op Center. She would likely be the most dangerous and Skulker didn't want to take any chances. Narrowing his sights on the two younger females, Skulker set off for the laboratory.His slow, ominous steps reverberated throughout the house, obviously alerting the girls that something was coming for them. His horns and spikes were intimidating, but he so dearly wished he had a mouth. If there was one thing Skulker loved more than the thrill of the hunt, it was the feeling of giddy satisfaction as life left the horrified eyes of his victim. And in those final moments, the hunter wanted his prey to know that they had brought him great joy. He wanted the last thing for them to see was his hollow black visor, his flaming green Mohawk, and his winning, razor sharp smile.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Jack Fenton to get a small fire going inside their cave. It had taken even less time for Danny to fall asleep. Jack looked at his son's seemingly frail form as it tossed and turned on the rocky floor. He was proud of his son, but he was afraid for him at the same time. The world had never been a perfect place to live, andnow there were even more things to worry about. Ghost attacks were on the rise, crime in Amity Park had started to rear its ugly head, and Jack was still responsible for a wife and two children.

The man threw a few more sticks on the fire and pulled a small orange book from his boot and retrieved a pen from the other one. The word "Diary"was scribbled cross the front of the book and Jack flipped to the middle to the first blank page.

_Dear Diary_, he began, _the father/son trip turned out to be something completely different. The plane crashed nowhere near Florida. Danny and I escaped with parachutes with our names embroidered into them. If this isn't a trap, then I don't know what to think. There were no people onboard after I came back from the bathroom and the pilot was gone too. I found several hologram projectors throughout the cabin, which explained the "disappearance" of some of the passengers. I still don't know what happened to the others._

_We found a house out here and we're heading out for it tomorrow. Tonight, Danny and I are staying in a cave. I doubt it will protect us from bears or jackalopes or whatever other woodland creatures are out here, but at least we're safe from the rain. It's really coming down out here._

_The other thing I'm worried about is the silence. There aren't any noises. No animals, no bugs, nothing. We heard a few cries from something, but it wasn't any sound I'm familiar with. This only happens when a super-predator is on the hunt, and even then I've only ever encountered this with ghosts. I hope we can get to that cabin. Maybe whoever lives there can help us. When we get out of here, I have a serious bone to pick with these "Dalv" people._

_If any good comes from this, it might help me connect the dots between Danny and Phantom. I have my suspicions, but I can't do anything about it without solid proof. For now, we'll just try to survive the night. As soon as the sun comes up, we're heading out._

_Love, Jack_

To Be Continued

_A/N: I know it's been a while, and I do apologize. But I'll be damned if this thing never gets finished._

_Also, I'd like to tell you that I'm aware of the continuity errors here. I was really consumed by work and whatnot, and my mind drifted. If you're unsure as to what I meant, I know of two prime examples of this error. First would be the Nasty Burger conversations. I made each one seem like the first time Danny talked discussed his conversation with Valerie to his friends. I also threw in things that weren't there the first time. In my mind, I knew that I had already done it, but I wanted to have Danny explain the conversation to Jazz. Instead, I ended up doing the whole thing over again. The second instance of this is Plasmius' orders for Skulker. First, she wanted him to stay put in Colorado and keep his eyes on Danny to make sure Proximus didn't kill him. Then, she turns around and orders him to kill Maddie and Jazz. I tried to cover the second one up in this chapter, but there's really no excuse for such a large degree of inaccuracy. Rest assured that I won't let it happen again._

_The other issue I have is that I've been drawing out the action in this chapter to ridiculous extents, especially the situation with Skulker and the Fenton home. I think this is the second chapter where absolutely nothing happens._

_Is there anything I can do or say to make it up to you? As it happens, the next segment will combine the episodes "Control Freaks" and "Prisoners of Love" into "Dead Men Walking". Freakshow and Mr. Hunter officially join forces to keep Phantom out of the picture as they set the first phase of Operation: Reality Wars into motion._

"_Dead Men Walking" Will FINALLY conclude the first season of UDP, and will be followed up by the 18-chaptered movie segment "Reality Wars", which infringes on more copyrights than you can shake a stick at while kicking off Season 2. _

_If that's not an acceptable apology, then I don't know what is . . ._

_Reviewers, I want to thank you for all the motivation you give me. I appreciate every last word. Special thanks goes out to_ phantoms-allie, CyberArcRotarr, darkbunny92, Akemi Clevek, darkness over day, General Razgriz, Shining Zephyr, alienphantom, inukagome15, MissMeliss4251, Thunderstorm101, _and my wonderful beta,_ Cordria.

_Stuff is going to start happening in the next chapter. I promise. Bear with me, people, this has been a very long, arduous summer._

**NO U – Master Chief**


	99. Paternal Instincts 8

Chapter CVII

Sam and Jazz had just stepped into the lab when the sound of the door bursting open echoed down to their ears. The steady thumping of heavy boots grew closer as the intruder made his way through the kitchen to the basement steps.

"Omigosh, omigosh, what are we gonna do?" Jazz looked around the room frantically, hoping for a solution to present itself. "What are we gonna do?!"

The heavy footsteps paused for a moment before the intruder began an ominously slow descent down the stairs.

"The Specter Speeder!" Sam blurted out. "We can use it to hide in the Ghost Zone!"

Jazz's fear turned into confusion. "Why on Earth would we want to do that? That thing is probably a ghost anyway! How much better off would we be in his dimension?"

"You have a better idea, princess?" Sam began to back away from the stairs. Her flashlight revealed nothing, but she knew the figure was only several steps away from illumination.

"N-no," the older teen admitted, "but we can't just leave! What about my mom?"

"You don't think she can hold her own against whatever that thing is?" Sam's heart rate sped up as a black boot stepped into view. "C'mon!"

The girls spun around – and came face to snout with the largest dog they had ever seen in their lives. It would have been terrifying enough if the pooch was alone, but another canine came into view alongside its brother. Both dogs were showing off their impressive teeth in a slobbery display of intimidation. Sam and Jazz backed away from the ghost dogs instinctively, but found that to be a mistake as they bumped into something cold, hard, and definitely not friendly.

"I would much rather prefer to let you two live," the synthesized voice of the intruder spoke. "My primary target is elsewhere in the house, and I can hardly consider either of you two as threats."

"Oh really?" Jazz asked.

Sam sensed that the gene responsible for making Fentons pick fights with superior opponents was coming into play and elbowed the girl in the ribs with an unnecessary amount of force. "Ix-nay on the ight-fay, azz-jay," the younger girl growled through clenched teeth.

The unseen head of the intruder turned to Sam. Several seconds of silence passed before he spoke. "What?"

The thought of explaining "Pig-Latin" to the ghost passed through Sam's mind, but it was replaced by an even cleverer one. "Azz-jay, ount-cay o-tay ee-thray and ock-shay the og-days, ok . . . ay?."

Jazz did the translation in her mind – Jazz, count to three and shock the dogs– and nodded in understanding. The intruder was still trying to process what the two females were saying when, three seconds later, the girls spun around and fired their tasers into the ghostly dogs. The amount of electrically-charged ectoplasm was just enough to KO the domesticated specters, but the process gave Skulker more than enough time to yank the females back, thus ending the surprise attack.

"Great plan," Jazz hissed, displaying her mastery over sarcasm. "Now what?!"

"Now, you die." The voice carried no emotion. It was as cold as the steel of the ghost itself.

Sam and Jazz exchanged petrified glances; this one was serious. "Wait!" Sam blurted out. "You don't want to kill us!"

"No, _you_ don't me to kill you," the robot replied.

"Well, yeah," Sam replied softly, "but you said so yourself, we're not your primary targets! Why waste your time with us?"

"Why should I even waste another second arguing with you scrawny females? Accept your deaths. Escaping me is only prolonging the inevitable."

"Is that supposed to scare us?" Jazz barked angrily, momentarily forgetting that their captor was a massive robotic ghost with the strength of ten grizzly bears.

"No," Skulker hoisted them up off the ground by the backs of their shirts and turned them to face him. His Mohawk erupted into a flaming green existence, having previously been extinguished to conceal his form in the darkness. The green ectoplasmic fire lit up his demonic face with an eerie, ethereal light. His hollow, black eye stared into the girls' very souls. "_THIS_ is supposed to scare you!"

Jazz opened her mouth to scream, but found her constricted throat was unable to even emit a simple gurgle. Sam, on the other hand, was too stunned to feel fear.

"Uncle Kaine?"

The robot dropped both girls and took a step back. So THAT waswhy the mercenary was presently occupying a stasis chamber. His affection for this girl, his niece, landed him in poor graces with Plasmius and she deemed him unfit for service.

"Samantha . . ." Saying the girl's name made the ghost uncomfortable, although Skulker couldn't begin to fathom why.

He would never get the chance to – at least not in the Fenton household. A foreign object collided with his back and sent the robot sprawling to the ground. Jazz and Sam, who had sidestepped in the nick of time, sighed in relief at the sight of Maddie Fenton perched atop the stunned mechanoid.

"Girls! Run!" The girls did as they were told and sprinted up the stairs as fast as their feet would carry them. Once they were safely out of the way, the woman retrieved a small firearm from her belt. "As for you-"

Her sentence was left unfinished as the robot rolled over and swatted her off his metal back like an insect. "That was a mistake," he grumbled. "A very big mistake."

Undaunted, Maddie grabbed a cylindrical object from her belt and tapped an activation button. Two solid beams of ectoplasm winked to life at either end of the weapon and held it in an attack position in front of her body.

A scratchy, static noise reverberated from Skulker's vocabulator as the ghost laughed. "You humans are truly pathetic. I can't begin to fathom how you evolved as the only sentient species on your planet." Two blades slid down from the robot's wrists. "Perhaps someday I will be able to rectify that inequity. But in the meantime . . ."

Maddie took advantage of the massive specter's monologue and attacked, striking him in his right wrist and shattering the retractable blade. Her follow-up attack to destroy the other weapon was deflected and she was kicked into the far wall of the laboratory. With speed surprising for something of his size, Skulker threw himself at his prey, curling his fingers with the intent to cleave Maddie's head from her shoulders with his claws.

His attack would have succeeded, but Maddie was much more resourceful than any other ordinary woman. Her double-bladed weapon struck the mechanical ghost square in his optical targeting visor. The speed of her thrust, when met with Skulker's momentum, shattered the narrow optical shield and shredded some of the delicate circuitry hidden beneath. It also popped Maddie's shoulder out of place.

"RRRAAHHHHHH!" Skulker stumbled back, clutching the sparking wound that had blinded him. "Miserable WRETCH! I shall end you!"

"Not today," came the confident retort from Sam.

Spinning toward the direction of the sound, Skulker didn't have to see the young woman to know where she was and, based on his previous observation, knew exactly where to angle his demonic cranium to appear as though he could see her.

"Would you really strike me down in my wounded and highly vulnerable state, Samantha?"

The aforementioned teen cringed at the ghost's use of her name, but stood her ground. "I don't have to."

Sam took two quiet steps back, leaving plenty of room in her wake for Jazz to intangibly burst up from the floor in the Fenton Ecto Suit and land a metal-denting punch into Skulker's midsection. Caught entirely off guard, Skulker had no time to compensate for the surprise attack and felt his body explode through not one, but two levels of the house and crumple in an almost deactivated state on the floor.

**WARNING**, the message flared through his internal audio receptors, **MASSIVE DAMAGE SUSTAINED. RISK OF DEACTIVATION: EXTREME. INITIATE TACTICAL RETREAT BEFORE POWER RESERVES REACH CRITICAL LOW.**

Skulker heeded the computer's warning and braced himself against the floor in an attempt to hoist himself up. His right hand, where his retractable blade had been destroyed, rested on something unusual. He slowly plucked it from the floor and explored its design through touch.

**WEAPON OF UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION**, his computer replied when prompted to scan the object. **PROABILITY OF CUSTOM ORIGIN: 85.9. **

Slowly, Skulker placed the weapon on his belt and allowed the magnetic clamp to seal it in place. Then, with the last of his strength, the massive robot rose to his feet and hurled himself from the Fenton household. He didn't know where he would land and, as long as it wasn't in the path of another ghost hunter, he didn't care. The attack had caught him off guard. Plasmius never played up the Fenton woman to be a skilled combatant and he hadn't been prepared. Under any other circumstances, he would have stayed and fought. With stubborn resignation, however, the robot recognized the human's prowess. She was even his equal in combat. That, and his hounds had been placed in danger. Another scan of the house revealed that two of his canines had escaped into the Ghost Zone while the third escaped from the house and fled. They would find their way back home, they were resourceful beasts. Raising a hand to his shattered eye, Skulker grunted in mild amusement. How ironic that he would be the one needing aid.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Jack cringed at those four words as if they each gnawed at his ears with venomous little teeth. It was a phrase Jack had learned to tolerate during Jazz and Danny's toddler years, but he had assumed that his children were older now, more mature. That was apparently not the case; at least not with Danny.

"If we were there" Jack began patiently, "then you wouldn't need to ask that question, now would you?"

"Well then I guess I'm gonna keep on asking it, then," Danny retorted with more than enough sarcasm to match his father. "Hey Dad! Are we there yet?!"

An exasperated sigh forced itself from Jacks lungs and the man slouched. His pace slowed ever so slightly and he began to mumble. "God . . . kids 'n their . . . stations an the . . .hip-hop and . . . Celine Dion . . . Snoop Dogg . . . Tim Burton . . . Super Bad . . ."

"You're mumbling," Danny warned his father in a sing-song voice. "Mom says not to do that!"

"Mom also says to stop annoying your father. I guess neither of us take what your mother says to heart."

The pair trudged on in silence through the forest. Danny kept his eyes on the ground, barely paying any attention to where he was going. His pace was halted when he ran face first into a giant orange wall. "Why'd you stop?"

"We're there!" Jack exclaimed.

Danny's head snapped up and he gasped at the sight of the mansion. Although it was clearly designed with the forest in mind, it looked like a forest went into making the structure. For a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, it was ridiculously expansive. And that sent an uncomfortable sensation through the boy's body.

_You guys know who lives here._

_**Quite the contrary. We have no idea who lives in that grotesquely lavish mountain home.**_

**We have a pretty good idea, though.**

_**It's number one on your list.**_

_Well crap._

_**Yes. "Crap" indeed.**_

_What does she want this time?_

**How are we supposed to know?**

_You knew we were in Colorado, didn't you?_

_**Simple mathematics and measurements. **_

**For you, maybe. **

_**Perhaps not "simple", then. That's not the point. We can only do what you have the ability to do. If you had the power to read the future, then we would have used it to plan your attack long ago.**_

_Yeah, right. You would've said something cryptic and completely unhelpful and then disappeared._

**Remember the Alamo . . .**

_That's exactly what I'm talking about! _

It was no surprise to the fourteen-year-old that his voices had vanished again, but it still made him angry. His anger increased when, from the massive double doors, walked a familiar figure. Dressed in black cargo pants and boots to match, with nothing but a sleeveless white t-shirt on top, Danny could only guess what her intentions might be. As if he even had to guess. If blood could boil, Danny's could've cooked soup for an army. Vanessa Masters gasped in mock astonishment and sprinted the distance from her mansion to the two Fenton men.

"Oh my God!" She shouted convincingly. "What on Earth are you two doing out here?!"

"Something tells me _Earth_ had nothing to do with it," Danny muttered under his breath.

"You're not going to believe what happened!" Jack exclaimed. "We-"

"Let's get you two inside, first," Vanessa interrupted, "You look like you spent a night in a cave!"

"Funny story, actually," Jack rubbed the back of his neck.

Vanessa laughed what sounded like a genuine laugh to Danny as she and Jack headed inside. Danny took a grudging step after them, but froze as another familiar woman rose from the ground. Plasmius – or a duplicate of Vanessa in ghost form – hovered in front of Danny with a grin that looked almost too evil.

"I thought I might find you here," Danny sneered.

"You think it was coincidence that dropped you on my doorstep? No, I have plans, Daniel. Great plans for you and me."

"Oh really? Mind sharing with the rest of the class?"

Plasmius' toothy smile faded to a casual grin. She floated closer to the boy and stopped centimeters from his face. "What's wrong?" She moved closer to Danny's ear. "Danny, what's wrong?"

Danny gasped as something slimy pressed against his ear and swung at the ghost woman once he realized it was her tongue. But Plasmius was gone, and so was her saliva on his lobe. His vision cleared, and Vanessa Masters was standing next to Jack Fenton, both adults looking at the young man with concern.

"Danny? What's wrong?" Jack asked his son.

"Nothing," Danny said quietly after several seconds. "I just, uh, zoned out there for a minute."

Vanessa smirked at Danny and turned to lead Jack into her cabin. Danny rubbed his head and, deciding to figure out what had happened later, followed them. He was unaware of the two red eyes that followed him, and was even more unaware of the glowing red sphere that shone from the highest window.

* * *

"I can't believe that! Your plane was sabotaged?!" Vanessa's voice carried up from the living room below.

Danny rolled his eyes and stepped into the shower. He had been apprehensive at first, but Vanessa hadn't done anything else . . . unusual since his initial encounter. She even had a spare set of clothes for him and his dad "in case they ever came out to visit" she had said. Bull. But it was welcome bull. The hot water washed away the grime and muck from the forest, purifying his body and allowing his mind to wander.

It didn't get far before the water came to an abrupt halt. Danny opened one eye and glanced down at the hot water tap. It had been turned off. The boy looked out from behind the shower curtain, keeping his brow furrowed and staying alert. He grabbed his towel from the rack and wrapped it around his midsection before taking a tentative step out. Nothing about the lavish bathroom looked out of place, but something caught his eye in the mirror. Danny slowly approached it, noticing that the steam from the shower still lingered and made it slightly difficult to see. After what seemed like an unnecessary amount of time, the wall-mounted glass rectangle was right in front of his face. His hand reached up, as if on its own accord, and began to wipe the condensation away. A large enough patch of the mirror became visible and Danny was able to see behind him. Still, nothing.

_Maybe I didn't have the water turned on all the way_, he thought. It was Vanessa Master's mansion, who knew if these showers were even supposed to work. Danny noticed the temperature in the bathroom suddenly dropped. With a shiver, the boy decided to try his luck with the faulty faucet again. He turned – and came face-to-face with Plasmius.

"I think it's time you came out, Danny." The ghost woman whispered.

Danny noticed that, like him, Plasmius was covered by only a towel. Her clawed hands tugged playfully at the tiny bit of the corner that kept the fabric snug around her body before they moved from her towel in favor of Danny's cheeks. Her face swiftly rushed for his, her lips loosely pursed but slightly agape, giving the stupefied teen a brief glimpse of her fangs before his eyes began to drift shut.

With a jolt, Danny's eyes snapped back open. Only, he wasn't standing with his back to a mirror. There was no grown woman pressing her ghostly lips to his. He was still in the shower, and the water was still on, pounding into his back like so many little waterfalls.

"Danny!" Vanessa called out from the hall. "I think it's time you came out! You've been in there far too long!"

With a scowl, Danny turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He stomped over to the door, wrapping his towel around his body (for real this time), and cracked it open. "I don't know what your problem is, but that is NOT funny. That's sick."

Vanessa, who was still standing outside the door, only smiled. "You seem to be enjoying it."

"You seem to like the idea of being a registered sex offender," Danny spat back. "Seriously, I knew you were a fruitloop before, but this is a whole new level of wrong."

"Even if I was doing . . . what I think you're insinuating, I doubt you'd take any legal action. I'm very good at whatever I do, and others often have little to complain about." Vanessa winked. "Although, if you are interested, I suppose there's always a first time for everything."

Danny growled and allowed his eyes to flare green. "You slu-!"

Vanessa blasted Danny with a beam of energy to his chest, sending him crashing into the porcelain toilet at the far end of the room. Dull pink smoke wafted from his charred torso, and his unconscious body lay limp on the mound of rubble. "That mouth of yours is so unbecoming of a boy your age." Without another word, she turned and strode down the hallway.

* * *

A strangled gasp managed its way out of Frederick's mouth. Vanessa Masters was a woman of surprising strength. So surprising, in fact, that the man almost forgot she was half ghost. Common sense eventually kicked in, however. Honestly, how else could she be holding him in the air by his neck?

"I told you I have no control over the staff's effects!"

"And I told YOU what I wanted," Vanessa tossed him onto a wooden table that buckled under the force of the impact. "Does the staff have a mind of its own?"

"I don't know! You used it! What else could you have possibly meant when you told it to _make Daniel want you?!_"

Vanessa growled, but remained where she stood. "Fix it."

"I can't! Either you keep using it and hope the staff correctly interprets your meaning, or stop." Frederick pushed himself up from the splintered remains of the table. "There's nothing I can do."

"Your staff clearly has no useful effect on Daniel. I had hoped for an easier solution to my problem, but I suppose we can test its power another way."

Frederick grinned. "Proximus?"

Vanessa nodded. "Call him. I shall distract Jack."

* * *

Phantom, not Daniel, traversed the halls of Plasmius' mountain estate. He knew he probably wouldn't find her. Chances were that she'd find him first. Or some sensual hallucination would pop out of the wall.

It almost made sense, in some perverse way, that this was happening. From the very beginning of his "adventures", his life had become more and more depressing. There were the inevitable insecurities about his parents and how they would react if they ever found out about his other half, but what teenager in his situation wouldn't think about those things? Then came the startling sense of responsibility. Was it his affinity for comic book heroes that drove him into action so quickly? Was it something ghostly in nature, or perhaps something even more than that?

That sense of duty to people he deemed innocent had landed him in more predicaments than he thought were possible in the span of a school year. His body had recovered after being beaten beyond the point of death. His heart had been abused more than he had even though possible, even more so for a boy his age. So much had been dumped on him, him, and all because of a button in a machine that wasn't supposed to work.

And now, with voices talking in his head, a murderous son from the future, his latest offspring kidnapped and missing, his mind must be projecting images into his mind; something he subconsciously must have wanted to happen. But why would he subconsciously want Vanessa Masters to come onto him? Was it easier for his mind to formulate these images because of her proximity? He knew he would never consciously state he was attracted to the woman. Sure she was attractive, especially in human form, but Danny knew of someone he would much rather fantasize about.

And that brought about a new wave of thought. Sam? Why in the world would he want to fantasize about his best friend? The girl who he had been inseparable from since before memory, the girl who stood up to bullies twice Danny's size and often took them down, the girl who had grown with Danny as they entered high school, the young woman who had been so afraid to see him go into the portal all those months ago, the very one who embraced him upon his emergence from its activation despite the risks, his best friend . . . did she feel the same way?

_**You know she does.**_

**HA! I was RIGHT!**

_**Whether you were "right" or not is immaterial. We've known all along that Daniel has felt this way. Besides, the way you fawn over Paulina and her perfect curvature, I thought you'd try to seize control over the boy and kill him.**_

_Why didn't you guys say anything?!_

_**Independence. How are you supposed to be able to function without us if you cannot even decide for yourself whether or not you have feelings for a girl?**_

**He is right. As much as I would have loved to initiate the mating ritual earlier, it seems as though this will work out best for both of you in the long run.**

_She likes me too?_

_**I cannot say for certain, but I have been monitoring her reactions to your presence and have analyzed several thousand specific memories in which she is involved. If assumption and guesstimation are accurate tools of predicting possible outcomes of pseudo-romantic relationship, then . . . well I'm not sure how to say this to you in layman's terms.**_

**You're in for some great sex.**

_**YOU SAVAGE!**_

**What? This seems like a sexually themed chapter, I thought I'd roll with it! **

_**What?**_

**Never mind.**

_So what do you think I should do?_

_**What do you think you should do?**_

_I . . . should do something._

_**Bravo.**_

**Sarcasm isn't needed from you! How do you think you should act, Danny?**

_I dunno, ask her out?_

_**That might be too direct of an approach . . .**_

**It's PERFECT! As soon as we get back to Amity Park, we-**

_Hang on, something's happening._

A strange tingling sensation formed at the back of his mind. Danny thought another image, another hallucination, was about to start, and spun around in preparation. The feeling worked to the front of his head and clouded his vision. Again, the boy pivoted, but there was nothing. A wave of pressure shot down his nasal cavities and the familiar green mist of his ghost sense drifted into the air in front of his eyes.

He knew there was no hallucination. He knew Plasmius was not about to materialize out of nowhere and advance on him. With a pang of regret, he knew Sam was not going to appear in a similar fashion. He also knew that he was immobile, for the most part, in his unconscious reveries. Something was pushing him, and it wouldn't make any sense if he was being tackled by some ghostly woman. Whatever was pushing him now was very real, and very dangerous. Then, as if being drawn out of a deep hypnosis, Danny became very aware of smashing through the window he had been gazing out of. He became very aware of the painful dagger-like fangs digging into his shoulder, and he became very aware of the cold night air as Proximus carried him out into the darkness.

* * *

"Is everyone ok?"

"Mom! Where are you?! I can't see!"

"You're holding a flashlight, Jazz."

"Oh, right."

**ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!**

"Not that button! Not that button!"

"Oh crap! Stupid . . . thing . . ."

_Ping!_

"Wow, that was close."

"Oh God, what is that smell?!"

"Jazz, honey, I think you just incinerated the laundry basket."

"Ewww!"

"Hang on, I'll try to go find something brighter."

"Try to get something that won't burn down the house too."

"Sam, stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Being sarcastic to my mom!"

"I'm not trying to, Jazz, it just happens when I'm under a lot of stress."

"Why can't you act scared like normal people?"

"Have you_ seen_ how I dress?"

"I can't see ANYTHING!"

As if to apologize to Jazz, the kitchen lights winked into existence. The girls gasped in surprise; the kitchen was a wreck. The door that led down to the laboratory had been ripped off the frame. The girls turned around and saw that the foyer was covered in splinters. The coffee table had been broken clean in half. A giant boot print could be seen imprinted in the floor. The laundry basket was almost comically out of place amongst the carnage. The charred clothes smoked angrily, as if wondering why they had been spared destruction only to be the victim of an accident.

"The power's back!" Sam exclaimed.

"Gee, you think so?" Maddie called down from the second floor.

The girl's pale cheeks tinged pink. Jazz giggled. "What goes around comes around."

Sam opened her mouth to fire back with her own witty comment, but froze. "Do you . . . feel something?"

A small vibration began to reverberate through the house. Normally, such tremors would be expected with all the gear sitting in the Fenton laboratory, but this one was different. The machinery was like a sleeping animal. It would occasionally rear it head and yawn, but then it would turn over and fall back asleep. This tremor quickly grew into a quake – this animal was a beast. It wasn't yawning, it was roaring.

"Come on girls!" Mrs. Fenton shouted as she flew down the stairs. "We have to-" But Sam was already running out the door. "Where are you going?!" the older woman shrieked.

Without a reply, Sam bolted out into the street, looking for something – anything. She knew what an earthquake felt like. This was something different, a whole other creature. Looking down the road she had stumbled out into, the teenage girl froze in her tracks before falling to her knees.

Amity Park was one of the largest cities in the United States. Being such made it a prime target for acts of terrorism, but never in a million years did anyone ever think that their city would be targeted for any sort of aggression. It was human nature to deny such things. Thousands of scenarios ran through Sam's mind. She hardly acknowledged the presence of Jazz or Mrs. Fenton as they hurried out into the street after her. She didn't feel this new creature's roar subside as the quake lessened and disappeared. All she could see was the center of town, and the giant blossom of fire and smoke that engulfed the Terror Tower.

* * *

Phantom was quick to free himself from Proximus and swung the man bat over his shoulder with more force than necessary. Several of the creature's teeth were dislodged from its gums and remained embedded in Phantom's shoulder.

"What are you doing here, _Elliot_," the ghost boy spat.

"I'm ending you," the creature howled as it circled around. "I'm finishing our fight."

"What about that stuff you were telling me before? My miracle DNA?"

The response he was given was a blast of Proximus' aptly named ghostly wail. Phantom struggled to remain airborne, but found that the wind had been knocked out of him by Proximus' cranium. The ghosts tumbled through the air, coming closer and closer to the tree line. Phantom grabbed Proximus by the throat and shoved him back. With horrified realization, he saw that the ghost creature had torn open his stomach. His entrails were slowly pushing their way out of the wound.

"Were this a children's cartoon, I'm sure I'd make a clichéd joke right about now," Proximus taunted. "But I just don't have the-"

Phantom's eyes flooded with green energy and he let it explode from his pupils. Twin beams of ectoplasm slammed into Proximus' chest. He found his anger rising and, instead of focusing on regeneration, Phantom's slowly diminishing logic presented another idea. He slammed a fist into his open wound and yanked out what was likely his small intestine. The organic cord was still connected to the inside of his body. Ignoring the indescribable pain (literally) in his abdomen, the ghost boy flung himself at Proximus and managed to wrap his entrails around the creature's neck.

"No more talking!" Phantom growled as he struggled to force the life out of his foe. "No more!"

Proximus' glowing red eyes widened. As a ghost, he didn't need oxygen, but the pressure of Phantom's boot in the back of his neck coupled with the strangulating application of force to his throat threatened to pop his cranium like a melon filled with dynamite. Lashing out with his feet, the ghost struck Phantom in the shin. The temporary loosening in his grip allowed Proximus to wriggle free. Using the sharpened, bony edges of his wings, Proximus slashed the intestinal noose in half before making a B-line for the trees.

The pain from Proximus' attack almost knocked Phantom out, but he held onto consciousness as his body fell from the sky. He lazily shoved his torn and tattered innards back through the wound, which quickly sealed.

_**We shall mend this most disturbing wound.**_

**Try to keep a medium range between you and him. Don't get too close, don't go too far.**

_**Please try to keep your bowels in your body from now on.**_

**And watch out for that tree.**

Phantom's head smacked off the trunk of said tree. He slid down the rough bark, scraping his body and smashing through smaller branches on his way down. Finally, his body made contact with the loamy forest floor where it rolled over and rested half in a thorn bush.

**I guess I should have said something earlier. My bad. **

_You . . . helping now?_

**We have just learned of some very disturbing news.**

_**It appears as though you are being manipulated by an unseen force. It is the same one responsible for your . . . sensual visions. **_

**It is also goading Proximus into attacking you. The only way you are going to leave this forest is by killing him.**

_I've already killed enough people, thanks. I'll think of something else._

**That is not the disturbing news I spoke of.**

_I can't imagine it gets much more disturbing than that._

_**An unknown attacker has leveled the Terror Tower in Amity Park. Several more bomb threats have been received from all over the city. **_

Phantom rose to his feet, all fatigue gone from his person. "How do you know this?"

**The force that is manipulating you is, in turn, being controlled by someone else. We were able to follow the signal back to his mind. **

"And?"

_**He is working for the man responsible for the attack on Amity Park. It was difficult to read his mind, as if it wasn't all there . . .**_

**We know the attacker plans to hold the city hostage. **

"For what? What in Amity Park could possibly be worth that?"

_**You. He is going to attempt to have you killed. He will demand it, or more people will die.**_

Phantom lowered his head. "Then I have to get out of here."

**There is only one way out. You know what you must do.**

_**We will aid you in this battle, but only because so much is at stake. You must win**_

Phantom flooded his hands with electroplasm. The crackling energy melted the gloves from his hands and began to vaporize the rest of his suit. His boots joined his gloves as a puddle of white ooze on the forest floor. The black of his shirt began to turn to smoke and was carried away in the breeze. Green was the color of the lightning that danced across his body. Green was the color of his ghostly aura. Green was the color of his eyes. Green was the color of the ecto-pulse that exploded from beneath his feet and spread out in a massive radius. Green was the color of the leaves on the trees before they were turned to smoldering ash. Green was the color of the ferns, the bushes, the grass, the vines, all of it, before it was returned to the earth from where it came. The only green now was the fire that raged through the valley. It was the color of the lone figure at the center of it all. Green was power, and it was alive.

Green eyes looked up to the sky. The pale figure of Proximus was easily discernable from the night sky above, even when his wings folded back against his body to reduce air friction as he sped down into the chaos below. Phantom flung himself bodily into the air to meet him. His fist, still burning with energy, slammed into the creature's stomach. Dark red blood flitted from between his teeth before disappearing into the darkness. Phantom grabbed his adversary with his free hand and charged at the ground. He slammed the creature into the heart of the crater he had made and followed up with repeated blasts of super-heated ectoplasm.

The familiar sonic vibration of Proximus' ghostly wail greeted his ears. No matter how many times he would hear the attack, he would not be ready for it. Phantom clutched his now-bleeding lobes and slowly floated back to the ground in agony. The attack broke off and Proximus dragged his body out from the earth.

"Fool," he hissed. "You cannot defeat me, even in your anger! And while you struggle to discover a means to attain victory, your world comes crashing down around you!"

Phantoms felt his fists shaking. Proximus was right.

**He is NOT right. You can defeat him! **

_How? Every time I hit him, he hits back twice as hard!_

_**Then perhaps it is time you used your power to its full potential. Allow our influence to flow through you. Let your arms be our vessels. **_

Phantom held his arms out to his sides. His left arm jerked toward the sky. The right one pointed to the ground. Nothing happened. A raindrop landed on his cheek. Still, nothing happened. More followed the first, but Proximus still stood before him. The rain had picked up considerably. The breeze now came in more powerful gusts. Lightning flashed on and off overhead.

"What is this?" Proximus raised his bestial head to the sky. "Rain?"

Before Phantom could offer an answer, Proximus cried out surprise. A vine had sprung from the ground and was winding its way around Proximus' wings. More were pushing out of the soil and had begun to anchor the creature down. Phantom's hands both snapped up to the sky and spread apart. To his disbelief, the clouds began to descend from the sky, slowly spiraling toward him. Lightning bounced from one side of the funnel to the other as it sped its rotation and hurried down closer as Phantom's arms pointed out to his sides. The tornado, which is the only thing Phantom could think to call it, tried to haul Proximus into itself, but the vines held the creature to the earth. Electricity slammed into the ghost with enough force to send him sprawling on the ground. The wind tunnel pulled him back off the forest floor and struck him again. And again. And again.

**You did not want to kill him? Very well. There is another way to end his threat to you. **

The knowledge was transmitted to him even without words. With his hands firmly planted to his sides, Phantom hovered over to Proximus. The hurricane-level winds only rustled the hair on his head. Once within reach of the creature, Phantom relaxed his arms. The vines loosened their grip, and the tornado spun itself apart with nothing to keep it in place. Before Proximus could collapse to the ground, Phantom's right arm snapped out and grabbed him by the mouth. And everything went dark.

* * *

_What was that? What happened? _

**We helped you.**

_How?_

_**It would take too long to explain. And for once we're not just trying to make you more independent. **_

**Time is a premium, and it is running out. **

_What am I doing now?_

**Remember that soul eating power we talked about?**

_No way . . ._

_**But you won't always have us, and it will be years, possibly decades before you will ever be to repeat the process.**_

_So what do I do?_

**Imagine the power of the ghostly wail. Imagine all its destructive capabilities. Imagine how it could evolve, how powerful it could be. Imagine the truth of the ghostly wail. It is unstoppable. It is unbeatable. There is no defense against it.**

_**And now you must image that power in your own body. Imagine the raw power pumping through your veins. Imagine every molecule, every atom infused with this ability; each one able to open its mouth and scream together with you. You are the ghostly wail, it is you; the embodiment of power.**_

_Ok, now what?_

**I**_**n**_**h**_**a**_**l**_**e**_**.**

To Be Continued

_A/N: I don't want to hear anything from you guys in regards to my absence. I'm at college. College equals work. Work does not equal time to write my story. So college does not equal time to write my story. I'll still do what I can. No promises. But this more than makes up for all the lost time. I know it, my lovely beta reader Cordria knows it, And you probably knew it when you saw how small the scroll bar was. SIXTEEN pages in Word. And I don't write these little blurbs until I get the document onto this site. So the story by itself is that long._

_Some things you may have noticed. Danny finally realized his feelings for Sam! That would be good, but you may have also noticed that Amity Park is under attack. I don't think he'll be able to make a move when he gets back. His hands will be pretty full. And Danny's others kicked some ass, didn't they? He's a force of nature with them at his side. _

_What will happen to Proximus/Elliot? I think I've kept him around longer than he was ever intended to be. I just liked the idea of Danny essentially fighting himself. Of course, it didn't really feel like an even fight. Freakshow will definitely put up more of a fight. You might be wondering "How?". Well so far, you've only seen Frederick Issak Showenhower. You haven't been introduced to Freakshow._

_I think I basically said everything about upcoming chapters in a previous A/N, so you can look back at those italicized snippets if you forgot anything. As far as I know, nothing has changed._

_Reviews! Thank you so much, everyone. It means a lot to me. Special thanks goes to_ phantoms-allie, Bloxham, darkbunny92, General Razgriz, alienphantom, inukagome15, Billy D., Hero.Of.The.Hazard, _and_ cdunn2010.

_For more information, go visit my DeviantArt page, which can be located in my bio. My latest journal entry goes into greater detail about what I talked about._

**HAVE YOU EVER BEEN HIGH AS F#?K - song of the same name. I found it on youtube, but the guy who sings it has his own website, so it's probably better quality there . . . aren't these supposed to at least try to be funny?**


	100. Paternal Instincts 9

Air. Was it one of those things that had no specific definition? Did air's meaning depend on the person defining it? Did it even exist by any definition? It could not be seen, touched or tasted. Air did not carry its own distinguishable smell, nor did it resound with its own voice. Can something that cannot be experienced in its raw state by any of the five senses actually exist? As Danny Phantom neared the speed of sound, it felt as though this master of intangibility was as solid as the ground beneath him. He pushed himself forward, refusing to allow air to win. Clouds were swept into his wake. Ethereally charged energies surged through these clouds in the form of green electricity, turning the water vapor into its liquid state. Rain fell in a line behind the ghost boy. Thunder echoed through the skies like the pounding of an angelic drum, but Danny Phantom was paying no mind to the aftermath of his first attempt at supersonic flight.

He had been curious as to why Plasmius was not racing to catch up to him. She could fly much faster than he could – at least he assumed she could – and if that wasn't the case, then she could at least teleport. As his attention was focused on his destination, he hadn't even considered that it wouldn't take long to find the unusual string of rainclouds, and then it would be as easy as pie to figure out where he was. Thankfully, Plasmius was otherwise preoccupied at the moment. Or so Phantom hoped.

Then again, maybe her preoccupation was not exactly a good thing. He had left his father to fend for himself. There hadn't been time to explain. Proximus was dead, left on Plasmius' doorstep. Had he passed her test, if that was indeed what his battle had been? And what did that mean for him now?

Nothing good, if he knew Plasmius. Given the disturbing nature of her previous mental "attacks", he had a sickly feeling that he was beginning to _really _get to know her. Nothing felt right anymore. Amity Park was becoming a hotspot for acts of terrorism and ghost attacks were increasing in lethality almost exponentially. Plasmius' plans were growing more diabolically horrifying with each new one. Two of his children were in the Ghost Zone, one from the future wanted to kill him and the other from the present, too young to comprehend what "kill" meant. And, as the icing on a most disgusting cake, two voices reigned over his mind and had just helped him absorb the spectral energy from a living creature, resulting in the death of a human being not much older than he was.

How many more would die by his hand before he wouldn't have to do it anymore? How many more times could he suffer being a hero? Could he really keep going, even by following his others' advice and recognizing the good that came from his actions? He wanted to. Phantom was still the hero, but how much more could he bear?

_Spider-Man never had to put up with this. _

Neither protoconsciousness replied; either too tired or forcing him to think for himself again. Typical.

* * *

News choppers hovered around the pillar of smoke as it ominously rose into the darkening sky. Below was a burning heap of what used to be Amity Park's Terror Tower. Twisted, warped steel arched above the crumbled brick and drywall. Cords, cables**,** and wire of all kinds remained woven around the framework. Some of the wires still sparked, spraying miniaturized fireworks into the air. The way in which the tower fell left the remains sprawled into the street before it and, from the height of the helicopters, it looked the decaying remains of a great beast.

Sam could hardly believe what she was seeing. She hadn't moved from the middle of the street where she had fallen to her knees in desperation. Who could have done this? Why? How? So many questions flooded her mind, forcing out the tears that had been welling up for some time now. One final question blocked the flow like a log in a stream. Where was Danny? He could have stopped that building from falling, couldn't he?

"Come on, Sam," Jazz whispered. The younger girl had nearly forgotten about the two Fenton women. Danny's elder sister's voice betrayed a similar reaction to Sam's – one of despair. "We should get inside."

Making no move to resist, Sam stood with surprising calm and silently followed Jazz and Maddie back into the house. Skulker had tried to kill her. His niece! The one relative she was beginning to truly connect with hadtraded in his histrionic yet understanding personality for a new look and, apparently, a new stance towards family. Why would he do it? Unless Plasmius had something to –

Wait.

"Oh God," Sam choked, trying her hardest to hold back her sobs. She was thankful that she was sitting down now, otherwise she might have collapsed again.

"I know, this is just . . ." Jazz paused, taking a deep breath. "I don't even-"

"No, not about this," Sam waved her arm to the door. "Danny!"

Jazz made sure her mother was out of earshot – she had relocated to the kitchen and was watching one of the many news networks as they reported and speculated on the attack – before locking Sam in a firm gaze. "What about him?"

"He gets called away with your dad on some trip, Uncle Kaine tries to kill us, and now this?"

Jazz's eyes slowly widened. "What are you getting at?"

"Plasmius. She has to be responsible. This is, like, her last ditch effort to get Danny to join her or make him her son or whatever," Sam rubbed the tears of silent mourning from her face, smudging her eye shadow in the process. The dawning of this realization had overtaken the shock of the attack. "She wanted to separate him from us so she could kill us and . . . I don't know, blame it on the attack!"

The two girls sat in silence, listening to sirens of every suit sing in a jumbled unisonas their respective vehicles rushed to the scene.

"There has to be more to it than that," Jazz said finally. "And Danny's not just going to give into her game. He'd suspect something."

"Even if he did, he couldn't just fly away from Vanessa, she'd kill him!"

"SHH!" Jazz looked worriedly from the kitchen doorway back to Sam. "Not so loud," she whispered angrily.

Sam scowled. "I don't think we can be keeping his secret from everyone much longer. His parents need to know."

Jazz reeled back as if smacked in the face. "Are you insane?! They'd kill him!"

"You don't know that. Hell, if they knew then maybe half of these problems wouldn't be problems! Maybe all this could have been averted!"

"Nobody could have seen this coming, Sam," Jazz said solemnly.

"Not just the tower, all of this. The Lunch Lady, the mercenary attack, all of it could have just been avoided. His secret isn't helping him. So much of what he's done is bottled up inside and we can't understand it any better than he can."

Jazz chewed on the inside of her cheek in contemplation. "You really think it's a good idea?"

"Jazz, this isn't a city anymore. This is a war zone. Things are changing in ways – horrible ways – we never could have imagined. Think of this; what if Danny snaps? What if he turns on us?"

"Do you think he would?"

"You can only push someone so far, and he's way past the limit now. We're there for him one hundred percent of the way, but we're just not enough. He needs more support. He needs his whole family behind him."

Jazz looked into Sam's imploring eyes. She could see why Danny would get lost in them. That is, if he ever stopped being so dense. There was truth behind those violet irises; maybeSam was right. "Mom?" Jazz called hesitantly. "Can you come here? There's . . . something we need to tell you."

* * *

_These will do nicely_, Clockwork thought.

The frames frozen in circular clock faces depicted warriors of incredible strength, intelligence, but most of all, valor. These warriors, these heroes, would go a long way in helping Daniel in the trials he faced ahead. But events had unfolded quickly. Too quickly. To have caught Clockwork off guard could mean one of two things: either Walker was planning an attack of greater magnitude than the destruction of the Terror Tower or Lord Phantom himself was planning on making a visit to exterminate his rebellious seed. Clockwork shuddered at the horrendous possibilities the second option would bring, and hoped that it was the former.

"I understand that the attack on Terror Tower is the beginning of something much more sinister," Clockwork announced as the Observants materialized behind him. "And there is only one way to ensure that this event does not lead to the inevitable future."

Turning, Clockwork was easily able to read the expressions of his "supervisors", even though their heads were composed of a single eyeball. He grinned at their uncertainty, and pinpointed their response by gauging that reaction. "You will likely object to this action, but it is our last viable option before we must use the Ghost Writer. I will select a viable strike force of elite warriors from across the multi-verse by collecting them from alternate timelines in which the fiction of these universes is reality. Each warrior will be returned to his or her respective universe once the crisis is averted with no memory of the events that have transpired. I will then permanently seal the bridge to the multi-verse from this universe, making it impossible for anyone to call upon its power ever again."

Gears turned in the time master's mind and answers came to him. "I understand that the combining of universes creates a fair amount of instability. I have foreseen the use of several artifacts that will counteract this instability and which will ultimately reverse it. If nothing else, this strategy will completely rule out one possible way in which Danny Phantom sheds his humanity."

The Observants looked from one another to Clockwork. "You wish to send one of these warriors to Earth now?"

"I do," Clockwork replied with a nod, "in order to prepare the boy for the task ahead and to keep his family safe during his absences; for now, of course."

"Who did you have in mind?"

Clockwork grinned and turned to the center-most dial. "This one should be able to blend in easily enough."

"Subtlety never was one of your strong suits," one of the Observants muttered upon seeing Clockwork's choice. "He will surely draw attention to the Fentons and to himself."

"Do not be so sure. With so much going on, who will stop to notice him?"

Clockwork awaited the response he already knew while the Observants communicated with each other telepathically. "You are sure he is a suitable first choice to send?"

"Have faith, my friends. He will change the outcome of this approaching storm, and in more ways than one."

* * *

It was on fire, but it wasn't burning. He stared at it in awe, trying with every ounce of maturity to suppress the giddy feeling that swelled in his chest. He failed. Giggles gurgled out of his throat at the fire that danced up and down his arm. He looked from his immaculate hand to the great dead beast lying before him. It was not on fire, but for a brief moment, it had been. Too bad, the fire had been so beautiful. Those red rectangles with their grey tubes had doused the fire that had roasted his kill. What were they, those smaller, water-spouting creatures? Some kind of deep-sea fish? That would explain the water. It would also explain the glowing lights atop their heads. Angler fish had those, didn't they? Then smaller ones had arrived. Black and white shapes with red and blue lights. Was it mating season? Had he interrupted an eons-old tradition with his kill? Suddenly he felt sad for the great beast, and for the fish he had disturbed. Those giant angler fish, how sad.

Angler fish? Why would their lights be on if it was bright enough to see anyway? Was he even under water? How could he sustain fire under water? It sure felt like he was under water. The crushing pressure, the stinging in his eyes, and other sensations he had simply attributed to being under water; the constricted throat that made him want to cough, the clouded vision, the feeling of being disconnected from his body. But there was no fire under water. There was fire on top of water in that movie with the killer whale, but that was because of oil or some other deus ex machina of that sort.

Frowning, he looked at his other arm. It was not on fire, but it sure looked different. It was gold – gold! – and there were gems on it! When had this happened? His fingers ended in claws now, and the golden arm formed a bony spike that covered his elbow. A defense mechanism? Of course! While he had been mastering fire, his other arm had evolved to master protecting him from it. But would gold keep him safe from fire? He pointed his finger at his newly evolved arm and prepared to fire a blast, but stopped. Feeling was returning to him. Frederick took a deep breath as his ethereal state of being ended in a swift stroke. He had foolishly tried to attack the Reality Gauntlet, and it had taken away his power as a precaution. Perhaps there was more to learn about this gauntlet still.

"Hey ,you! Are you alright?"

Frederick looked up. He hadn't even realized he had fallen down after the gauntlet had taken his power away. He opened his mouth to reply when, to his horror, the man's head exploded like a watermelon filled with C-4. His own, intact head spun around to see if he could identify the attacker. It took only a fraction of a second. The person responsible slammed the toe of a very hard reinforced steel-toed boot into his jaw. Pain exploded from the impact area, but the shock prevented him from crying out.

"I've seen some pretty serious screw ups in my time, but this might just take the cake." That voice! It was so familiar!

"Huntah?" Frederick's broken jaw prevented him from forming words correctly. Another mini explosion of pain spread through his mouth and he mentally slapped himself.

"Agent X, GIW," the man corrected. "We've had dealings through our mutual friend Lydia. That doesn't excuse you from this, however. K, O, take him to headquarters. His bitch might enjoy the company."

Two sets of arms hoisted Frederick up off the ground. He felt his gauntlet slide off his arm and, in the blink of an eye, it was over before it began. Walker would have his head. Or worse.

* * *

Vanessa smiled and waved gingerly as Jack took off in her private helicopter. Once airborne, she spun on her heel and stormed back into her cabin mansion. A jerk of her thumb over her shoulder sent her two stooges, Hank and Harold, after the helicopter. Unlike any other Fenton, the condors were on a mission to protect Jack from anyone or anything that might want to prevent him from returning safely to Amity Park. Not that Amity Park was safe.

Inside the cabin, Vanessa grabbed a tuft of hair in each hand and growled. Skulker had reported failure. Or at least it sounded like he had reported failure. His transmission was garbled and hard to understand. She had made out that he had been caught off guard by Samantha Manson, who revealed that she was Kaine's niece. The ensuing battle cost him his sight and apparently he was lucky to escape with his life and the lives of his hounds. That was before she had crushed her cell phone in her hand. Some horrible act of terrorism had destroyed the Terror Tower. To top it all off, Danny managed to not only defeat Proximus, he also managed to remove every trace of ectoplasmic energy from her pet's body. Elliot, as he looked before his confrontation with Phantom at the observatory all those months ago, wound up at her door. Dead. The only visible injury on Elliot's body was a handprint on his chest. A quick scan, made possible with invisibility, revealed that the boy's lungs were gone. No sign of forced entry or . . . exit to remove them, no signs of a surgical operation, nothing but the handprint. Danny had learned a frightful new power and was now using it to its full effectiveness.

Plasmius had been vaporized Elliot's body. The authorities didn't know he existed, but better to tie up loose ends than to have some organization or another taking her to court with a dead, lung-less child to use as evidence against her for a crime that she, for once, truly did not commit. At least not directly.

Jack had taken a bit of overshadowing to convince that Danny had never come on the trip in the first place, but it had worked had even gone so far as to remove any sadness from Jack's heart as a result of not spending time with his son. A regular Mother Theresa.

But now the stars were aligning in nobody's favor. It was as if the world was out to get itself; the cosmos' most erroneous idea of a practical joke. She set the security to its most secure setting for her cabin and her home in Wisconsin and her various other homes across the globe, meaning that anything short of a ballistic assault would not be able to get past. Normally such precautions wouldn't be necessary, but Vanessa was not planning on returning home any time soon. She even briefly entertained the possibility of never returning at all. Then the woman transformed into Plasmius, letting the black and purple rings wash over her body, caressing every curve as they removed her human disguise and let her true self emerge. With determination evident on her face, Plasmius took to the sky and set her sights on Amity Park.

Her intentions could not be discerned by anyone who would have had a good look. Even Clockwork, had he not already known, would have difficulty reading her. The fate of her master plan - many, many years in the making -was in the balance, and its fate rested on whether or not she would align with the forces of evil. Maybe she would do what was expected of her and antagonize those who fight for truth, justice and freedom. Or perhaps she would take a different path. It was hard to say for certain, but like the blue semi truck cab with flame decals that now sat parked several blocks down from the Fenton home, there was more to her than meets the eye.

To Be Continued

_A/N: So yeah. Short, sweet, and full of win. By win, I of course mean the winner of the poll. 2007 Movie Prime won by a landslide. If you didn't vote, don't complain. If you did, and still aren't pleased . . . well that's democracy. Sorry. I think he'll work out fine. See if you can spot him in the chapter! LOLZ!_

_So I realized that, coming up soon, my review-to-chapter ratio will no longer be 10/1. Maybe it has something to do with the show's cancellation? Or maybe my laziness in updating is what's destroying my reader/reviewer base. I'll have to think of something to fix this, especially if the Reality Wars doesn't. Even still, I'm pretty pleased with those numbers.  
_

_So right now I'm in the process of doing finals work. Hard to believe that I started this story my sophomore year in high school, and just now I'm finishing the first "season", which will be concluded in _Dead Men Walking. _Crazy. Also, my friend stepped on my ankle the other day and it hurts. Luckily, my other friends are great caretakers and have provided me with ice, comforting words and cinnamon rolls. Mmm. _

_Reviews! I'd be lazy and just say thanks to "everyone", but I've only ever done that once. No need to do it again. But really, you're all amazing. Special thanks goes to_ Lockblade, alienphantom, Chemical Brain, Billy D., cdunn2010, General Razgriz, phantoms-allie, inukagome15, animeforever1, MasterChiefSamus117,_ and_ Anthiena.

**WHAT I KNOW IS: IT WILL NOT BE BY YOU. – Apocalypse, X-Men Evolution.**


	101. Dead Men Walking 1

Dead Men Walking

Chapter CIX

Danny noticed that, in recent times, it did not take much to get him angry. Before it had taken an hours-long battle with no winner in sight to get his blood boiling, now it only took a single punch to get him agitated. An enemy used to have to chatter endlessly for the duration of a battle to get him annoyed. Now it barely took a single ambiguous phrase to get his temper flaring. The little things were turning into much bigger things. But was that really so bad? His anger had saved him plenty of times in battle. Sure, collateral damage tended to be worse, but at least the bad guy was gone.

It was no surprise to Danny that he felt his anger rising once he entered the skies over Amity Park. The wreckage of the Terror Tower was easy enough to see from his height. Someone had destroyed a landmark in his town, his territory. Whoever they were, they'd pay. Dearly.

"Phantom!" The call came from somewhere behind him and, as he was flying over a mile above the ground below, thusly ruled out the population of the entire world save one. Phantom slowed his pace to allow Valerie to catch up with him. "Where have you been?!"

Phantom looked at her with his lie on the tip of his tongue. The sight of her stopped him. "Valerie? What happened to you?" His surprise came from her appearance. Where her athletic and somewhat scantily clad uniform had once been was now a suit of body armor that looked like it came from a video game. Her face was completely exposed.

"The Guys in White recruited me to help out with the rescue op. Stuck me in this thing for _my own safety_," she rolled her eyes. "They're looking for you. Wanted to make sure you didn't do it."

"How could I have done this?" Phantom exclaimed as he thrust his hand at the pillar of smoke. "I was in Colorado!"

Valerie looked at him strangely. "What were you doing in Colorado?"

**FOOL! **

_**Shut your mouth you damnable barbarian! **_

"Both of you shut up!" Phantom growled angrily.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

**Quickly! Tell her something to cover your foolishness! You nearly revealed your human half to her!**

"I'm working on it!"

"Working on what?" Valerie asked exasperatedly. "Who are you talking to?"

"I'm so sorry; my others are acting up again. You met them before, right?"

"You mean the two other you's? The pointy guy and the fat one?"

**HEY!**

"Yeah. They were quiet all the way here, but now, when I'm trying to have a conversation, they start being annoying." Phantom palmed the side of his head.

"So why were you in Colorado?"

"Well honestly, that's none of your business." Danny saw the imploring, puppy-dog face the Huntress was giving him and he sighed. "If you must know, I was fighting for my life against a man-bat clone of myself. After I beat him, I left before my arch nemesis could find me and finish the job."

Silence. Then, "Really?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much an average day for me."

"Huh. Well that's cool."

The two teens hovered in place, looking around at the sky, the city, birds, clouds – anything but each other. Phantom struggled to think of something to say, but small talk topics seemed to have failed him.

_**Since when did you fall back into the pathetic cycle of awkward silences with females? There's plenty to talk about; the world is under siege! I'm disappointed in you, Daniel, you two nearly mated! **_

_Ok we did not mate, Einstein, we dated. And it was for, like, two weeks. We never got anywhere near . . . you know, that stuff._

**He is saving himself for Samantha! Don't try to use your Webster's Dictionary lexicon to confuse the boy's feelings!**

_**Lexicon?! Mien gott! You actually used a word above an eighth grade level in a sentence! Have you been influencing the chemical balance in Daniel's body in an attempt to give you a linguistic advantage over me in conversation?**_

**. . . Maybe. **

_Speaking of Sam . . ._"Val? I need to check in with the Fentons."

"Thought you were in a coma there for a second," Valerie grumbled. "Why do you need to see them? Don't they hate you?"

"Probably. But given the circumstances, I think they'd be willing to hear me out, especially since I plan to help." He paused to rub the back of his neck. "I just hope they don't overreact."

* * *

"Jasmine, between your stammering and having Samantha fill in most of your sentences, you'd think I'd have a terrible overreaction to this."

Jazz looked from her mother to Sam and back again. "Can you really blame us?"

"No, I suppose not," Maddie rubbed her chin in thought. "It's not like your father and I ever talked about inviting Inviso-Bill over for dinner. Still, we've had our suspicions ever since the meat monster incident. When Shadow Phantom showed up we started second guessing ourselves, but I guess we were right all along."

"So why didn't you ever confront Danny with it?" Sam asked. "I mean if you knew, or at least thought you might know, why not just ask him?"

"I guess it was for the same reason Danny never came to us. We wanted him to trust us enough to come forward and tell us about Phantom. In the beginning, we weren't exactly sure what to think. Was Phantom a ghost friend Danny picked up? Was he using Danny to get to us? We had no idea, and now that I think about it, we never gave Phantom any reason to like us."

"He wanted you to trust both sides of him," Jazz said.

"Exactly. He wanted a certain amount of trust for his other side." She sighed heavily. "And we never gave him a chance."

"It's not your fault, Mrs. Fenton," Sam offered. "How were you supposed to know?"

"Danny came to us before, asking us to leave Phantom alone or not to hurt him," Maddie continued. "This was back when Jack and I thought Danny and Phantom might be friends. And now I see that Danny was trying to take the first step toward establishing a bond between us and Phantom. And we completely ignored him."

"Uh, is this a bad time?" The three women in the Fenton's family room quickly looked to the source of the voice. Floating in the doorway was none other than Phantom himself. "I can, y'know, come back later?"

"Where's your father?" Maddie asked in a casual tone, masking the tone of remorse that had been creeping into her words.

"I think he should be o-" Phantom's eyes widened. "O . . . p-q-r . . . ree . . . referred to as . . . uh, Danny's father . . . ?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Wow. With cover like that, it's astounding you've managed to keep your identity a secret for so long."

"What the hell is going on here?!" Phantom shouted.

"Well you being grounded for using language like that is what's going to happen first, young man," Maddie said sternly.

"Before you go on give me a chance to explain, little brother," Jazz butted in. "We know you've been going through a lot lately, but me, Sam, Tucker and Mr. Falluca aren't going to be able to help you bear the burden of your battles forever, especially if Terror Tower is any indication of the future."

Phantom lowered himself to the ground slowly. "This . . . this is . . . oh man."

"Danny, your father and I have had our suspicions about your connection to Phantom for some time. I know we have a lot to talk about, but right now I just want you to know that you . . . you're my son. You always have been and you always will be. Nothing is going to change the fact that I love you."

**DON'T YOU DARE CRY!**

_**He can cry if he wants to! This is . . . this is very sentimental! **_

**Y-YOU! YOU'RE CRYING! **

_**We're extensions of Daniel's psyche, we share his experiences and . . . OH GAWD, MOMMY! I LOVE YOU TOO!**_

**TOOL! We're not supposed to share in his weakness, only . . . only his . . . his . . . BAWWWW! MOMMY! I LOVE YOU! **

Phantom couldn't help but smile at the antics of his voices, even as tears of relief and joy began to stream down his face. Were they really crying inside his head? Maybe they were trying to alleviate some of the tension. As Phantom ran into his mother's open arms, transforming back into Danny in the process, he realized that neither of the two was trying to prevent this unusual display of emotion. Anger was eventually tempered, sadness was eventually lifted, and depression was eventually lightened. Eventually. Perhaps they knew that, eventually, Danny would have to open the floodgates. All his bottled up stress and fear would eventually have to be turned on the only two people in the world who could handle it; his mother and father. While not as vocal as the voices in his mind, the silent tears and hushed sniffles were more than enough of an expression. Danny Fenton's house was now his home.

* * *

**A push in the right direction?**

_**Yes. All that we've done for him so far; I've had my concerns about**__** the repercussions. This, however, is a sure thing. He's needed this for a long time.**_

**Well not to give you a heart attack, but for once, I whole heartedly agree with you.**

_**Good. **_

**You're sure he can't hear us in here?**

_**Daniel's subconscious is our private playground, my brother. We are safe to discuss what we wish without fear of jeopardizing-**_

**No! We cannot be sure. Some day, he will master the entirety of his mind, body and soul. If he discovers what has transpired here, our punishment will be much more grievous than it would be already.**

_**Grievous? How many big words do you plan to incorporate into your vocabulary before Daniel comes to suspect you?**_

**For our private conversations, as many as I can muster up.**

_**Very well. As you know, some of Daniel's abilities have already manifested much earlier than anticipated. Electroplasm was the first, and his foray into the manipulation of vegetation and the**__**atmosphere was a success. **_

**Without our influence, that would not have been possible.**

_**Perhaps. The very serious truth is that Daniel has begun travelling down the road-most-feared four years earlier than expected, and now that he has the capability to use the Ghostly Wail, his descent to evil may be so much closer than even our sources can predict.**_

**Speaking of which, what information has come in from . . . outside?**

_**Communication with our fused form in Walker's subconscious mind has revealed something to give Daniel a powerful advantage against his rebellious son. The consequences of this in the future are unknown, but we cannot allow Walker to send Daniel into a downward spiral.**_

**You are using one of Daniel's powers without his permission?**

_**Yes. His telepathy is quite useful for the task. **_

**Let's just hope this doesn't backfire. Your plans of hiding Daniel's powers from him has "bad idea" written all over it.**

_**It won't backfire. But now we need to commune with someone to ensure the death of the planet doesn't happen.**_

**Who?**

_**You're going to **_**love**_** this . . . **_

* * *

"What? What? Maddie, I can't hear you. The reception at this place is horrible. I'll call you as soon as I get a cab, alright? What? Yeah, I'll try to hurry. Is something wrong? O-Ok. Ok. I'll get there as soon as possible. Love you too. Buh-bye."

Jack Fenton snapped his phone shut and hurried from the McDonald's to the baggage claim. Half way between his Big Mac and the rest of his milkshake, Jack realized that he had been unceremoniously dropped out of an airplane and was given passage to Amity International Airport on a private helicopter with nothing but the clothes on his back.

"I would forget something that important," the man mumbled to himself as he changed directions andmade a beeline for the escalators to the ground floor. "Forget your daughter at school after her first day of kindergarten, forget your son's first tee-ball game, forget your tenth anniversary – you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to you."

Being one of the largest cities in the world made Amity Park was also one of the most crowded. Go figure. It wasn't unexpected, but having just returned from the forests of Colorado – with a decided absence of other human beings – made the sudden reintroduction to massive crowds something of an unpleasant experience. Most people would be able to say that being annoyed by something annoying is, in and of itself, annoying. To Jack Fenton, bustling crowds and the chore of having to wade through them was annoying. Being in the presence of this annoying situation was annoying the bulky man further.

Fortunately, a man in a suit with a large square sign that read JACK FENTON was standing very near the exit once Jack managed to fling himself from the boisterous throng of human beings. That helped greatly in relieving Jack's irritability. Another thing that annoyed him was having to find a cab coming from the airport.

"Hello Mr. Fenton," the man said once Jack was within earshot. "I've been waiting for a while. I was growing worried.

Something about the driver felt awfully suspect to Jack. The stranger was easily a head shorter (but then, so were a lot of people). His voice, though, resonated with an almost metallic deepness; almost as if it belonged to someone much larger. But his suspicion regarding this man was set aside for the moment. The unusual aura that Jack detected was not necessarily a suspicious-bad one, and there really was no reason to accuse him of some wrong doing. Besides, he was getting this ride for free.

"Well I, uh, sorta forgot that I didn't have any luggage."

"Ah. Understandable. Please get in; your cab is right here."

Jack looked up and fully took in the vehicle sitting in front of him; a massive, blue Peterbilt truck with red flame decals. "Is the cab on the other side of the truck?"

"No," the driver replied as he poked his head through the passenger window. "This is the cab."

Jack rubbed his chin, but climbed into the truck. "Sorry, it's a joke I picked up from when I used to work for someone else."

"No, it's – don't worry about it." Jack looked at the interior of the truck. It was so . . . _clean_.

"So mister . . . ?"

"Cullen," the driver replied without skipping a beat. "Peter Cullen."

"Right. Mr. Cullen. Vanessa has an interesting taste in chauffeurs . . ."

"I'm not under Miss Masters' payroll," Mr. Cullen replied. His tone was almost resentful.

Jack began to grow nervous. "So where are you taking me?"

"Back to your family, don't worry. I trust you've heard what happened there?"

"No, what?" "Oh my," Mr. Cullen sighed. "I'm afraid Amity Park's Terror Tower was destroyed."

"What?!" "Please Mr. Fenton, don't panic. Your family is safe. The criminal responsible has been apprehended by the Guys in White."

Jack slumped back in his seat. "Thank God."

"We'll be there within the hour. The traffic is surprisingly sparse, considering the situation."

Jack sighed with relief. "Mind if I turn on the radio?"

"No, go right ahead," Mr. Cullen replied.

Jack pressed several incorrect buttons before finding the right one. An a.m. channel began to play through the speakers. _" – that all drivers reroute from Main Street to avoid subsequent detours. You can safely maneuver around the crisis area by –"_ Jack looked from the radio to the driver. The man speaking on the channel sounded exactly like Mr. Cullen.

"Is this being broadcast live?" Jack asked. In hindsight, it was a rather dumb question.

"I hope so," Mr. Cullen replied as he flicked off the radio. His deep, resonating voice lacked some of its metallic luster, as if he was distracted.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to accelerate to speeds well beyond what most people would consider safe. It is imperative that I get you to your family."

"O-oh, well ok, I guess. I-" Jack was cut off midsentence as he felt the truck, lacking more descriptive language, explode from its easy forty-five miles per hour to somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety. Is body was slammed into the seat, not having had enough time to adjust. Jack wasn't able to make out the exact speed, as the corners of his vision began to blur.

"We'll make much better time now," Mr. Cullen announced. Having regained his bearings, Jack turned to look at the driver. He appeared unfazed by the vehicle's speed. The larger man thought he was hallucinating when Mr. Cullen's body flickered several times before disappearing altogether.

"W-what?! What the - !"

**"We're nearly at your home. Perhaps your son can enlighten you better than I can."** The voice was much louder now, and it was coming from the truck itself!

Several more seconds of riding in the unmanned vehicle got the gears in Jack's mind turning. The truck was obviously haunted! What other explanation was there? But then, why did the ghost responsible go through so much trouble to lure him inside this truck? And was he really being led back to his family? As if to answer his question, the truck skidded to an abrupt halt, spinning to slow its deceleration even more. The seatbelt unfastened by itself and the passenger door flung open, spilling Jack onto the sidewalk just outside his home. Sweet, sweet concrete. Jack thanked whatever benevolent presence had allowed him to arrive home safely, especially after the ride he had just endured. He heard the door to his house open and looked up with a winning smile, but it quickly transformed into shock. His house in bad shape, and that was an understatement. Something big had happened here. Before he could examine it any further, Sam, Jazz and Maddie quickly headed outside. Next to Maddie, and floating in the air, was Phantom.

"What's going on?" Jack asked worriedly.

"Dad," Phantom said. Jack gasped. "I, uh, there's something we need to talk about."

**"And you'll have plenty of time to talk about it later,"** the truck said from behind. The five people turned their attention to the vehicle, dropping everything else for the moment. **"Right now, we have some more pressing matters to attend to."**

And the five humans stood in wonder as the Peterbilt truck began to _change_.

To Be Continued

_A/N: First things first, I hate Twilight. I must applaud the writer, though, for exploiting the "omg magic!" gap left in Harry Potter's wake along with the "my parents don't wuv/understand me!" wave that most tweens are riding on these days. Besides, the guy's like, what, a few hundred years old trapped in the body of a mediocre actor and he's going after teenage girls? Does anyone else hear that? That's your pedo-bear detector going off. I hate stuff like this. Really, I do. That doesn't mean I hate you if you like it, but don't expect even a mentioning of Twilight in this story. You'll be hearing from actual vampires, like Dracula or Morbius or someone along those lines._

_Why did I just go off on a tangent like that unprovoked? Because of the name of the mysterious truck's holographic person. If you haven't figured it out, I'm disappointed in you. Like, really. Peter Cullen is the name of the man who voiced Optimus Prime in the original cartoon and again in the 2007 movie. He's reprising the role for Revenge of the Fallen, and has done other work, like narrating the early Voltron cartoon. He's also the Don Lafontaine of Cartoon Network. Do __NOT __get Peter Cullen and Edward Cullen confused. There is no relation. I hold the former in the highest esteem. The latter isn't even real._

_Sigh_

_So, now that I've sufficiently scared some of you away, let me apologize and get on with it. Prime isn't gonna be here for the duration of this segment. He just . . . rolled on by! HAAHAHAHHAA – ok, but really, he's just there to relay some info before he goes somewhere else before returning for the Reality Wars. _

_I forgot to do this last chapter, and she definitely deserves it. This chapter was a wreck before Cordria beta-ed it. I think I might be losing my touch. (sad face). Hopefully I'll turn it around. So thank you, Cordria, for helping me. _

_Keep your eyes peeled for a new chapter of Redemption, a story that I'm writing on the side. Let me know what you think of it. But, you know, not here. Over there, with a review for that story._

_Not much else I can think of. Stop by DeviantArt to see some artwork that myself and other talented artists have concocted. You can tell me if there's anyone in particular that you want to see._

_Reviews! I got quite a few for the last chapter. Special thanks goes out to_ Cordria, Billy D., Pterodactyl, Vorago Risus, darkness over day, cdunn2010, MasterChiefSamus117, Chemical Brain, Lockblade, Fulcon, darkbunny92, alienphantom, gadrak-the-forbidden-one, The Golden Hat, gwen araujo, Lightning Streak, and Darth Azrael.

**YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU LIKE – Great song (I like the beat), should be adopted as Burger King's temporary slogan, along with ridiculous music videos featuring The King in a viral youtube marketing ploy . . . didn't these used to be a lot shorter?**


	102. Dead Men Walking 2

Chapter CX

Never say never. Danny Fenton had come to believe in this saying. He could fly through the air, shoot beams of energy from his hands, and walk through walls. In his present condition, he was the most powerful being he could think of. He knew the comics and he knew that he could probably hold his own against even Superman if he ever needed to. Now THAT would be something to see. But Danny knew the limitations of reality, and fighting Superman would never happen.

There came times that forced Danny to second guess what he knew as 'fact'. He never thought he'd ever kill a human being and now his personal body count was on part with some of the more notorious serial killers. This wasn't something he was necessarily proud of, but it had happened despite every measure he had taken against it which, when all was said and done, wasn't much. Even though he had seen and done a lot of things he never thought he'd do, he never could have fathomed what was happening in front of him right now. Okay, maybe once or twice or a few dozen times when the movie came out, but recently? Realistically? Never.

"Never say never". That's what Danny Phantom decided he'd tell his children if he ever had any. Why? Well the fact that the truck that had just dropped off his father was spontaneously shifting its own parts and rearranging them into something hauntingly familiar was the primary reason.

The truck's transformation, the only word Danny could think of, slowed down. The truck looked to be simply aligning its rearranged parts now, as if it was making sure everything was in place. The wheels spun by themselves, lights flashed on and off, panels opened and closed, several antennae-like appendages sprung from near where the ears should have been. A visor retracted from around the truck's mouth, two brightly glowing orbs spun in short, rapid rotations. The truck stood up on its legs and stretched its back. That's when Danny realized that the truck was no longer a truck; it was a robot. And a very familiar one at that.

"**Are you Daniel James Fenton?" **the robot asked in its booming, commanding voice.

"Yeah?" Danny replied uneasily.

Optimus Prime nodded.** "Then you know who I am. Or you should. I was informed that you saw my motion picture."**

"A-are you kidding me right now?" Sam asked. "Seriously? Danny has ghost powers, ok, but you get chauffeured around town by Optimus-fricking-Prime?!"

Prime turned his glowing blue optics on Sam, focusing in on her. **"I assure you, Miss Manson, I'm not here just to give rides."**

"He knows my-"

"No! Stop!" Phantom whispered urgently. "Don't repeat lines from the movie! That's, like, a whole new level of cliché!"

"You did it!" Sam snapped back.

"When?!"

"When he asked you your name and you said 'Yeah'!"

"What was I supposed to say? _'Yes Mister Prime, sir, it is I, Danny!'_?"

"May I say something?" Phantom, Sam and Optimus directed their attention to Jack Fenton, looking as if they just realized that he and the rest of Danny's family was present. "What in the name of God is going on?"

Sam and Prime looked at Phantom expectantly. The ghost boy sighed. "Dad . . . I'm your son."

"I gathered that much. But Phantom? You've been Phantom this whole time and never told us?"

"I couldn't just tell you. I wanted to, believe me. Nothing in the world would have made me happier than to tell you, but I wanted you to trust me first – all of me. And on top of all the other stuff I've had to deal with, I wouldn't have been able to handle you and mom hating me for what I was."

Jack looked at his son, his face devoid of emotion. It was a look well known in the Fenton household; Jack was lost in contemplation. His mind was sifting through all the data he had just been overloaded with and trying to make sense of it the best he could. Then, like life had been restored to him, Jack's face flushed. His eyes widened and tears streamed down his face. A jolly grin spread across his face that would make Santa look like the Grinch in comparison. He lifted his shaky arms up, opening them to invite a loving embrace. "My son . . . the Ghost Kid!"

To his embarrassment, Phantom found that his lower lip was quivering. But surrounded by family and friends (and a giant robot), there was nothing to be ashamed of. Luminescent tears found their way out of Phantom's own eyes as he flew into his father's bear hug. Without bones to break or lungs to crush or impale with said broken bones, Danny was able to experience one of Jack Fenton's fatherly hugs to its full effect. Mother and daughter wasted no time joining father and son in the family affair or tears and joy. Sam and Prime watched from a distance.

"Sam! Sam, I just heard what happened when I intercepted a communication from Skulker on my PDA! I came as fast as I . . . as I . . . Oh . . . My . . . God . . .!"

All eyes turned to Tucker Foley. The African American boy was panting and his beret was visibly damp from sweat. His shock over seeing the Fenton family hugging Phantom was only barely eclipsed by his shock over seeing Optimus Prime.

"What the-!"

"**Your surprise is a natural reaction,"** Prime's deep voice rumbled. **"I would advise you to respire, though."**

Tucker's eyes pleaded for an explanation as they darted from person to person. "What is going on?!"

"**Approximately an hour ago, Amity Park's Terror tower was attacked by an unknown party and was subsequently destroyed. Emergency teams have arrived on the site and the Guys in White have apprehended the suspect they believe is responsible. They have requested your assistance with the rescue efforts, Daniel."**

The dapper mood from just moments before was now gone with all persons present weighing the gravity of the situation.

"We could probably help too," Jack offered. Maddie nodded her head in agreement.

"**No. Presently, you are being hunted by agents from other realms. I learned of Skulker's attack the same way Tucker did, by intercepting a communication between him and an unknown employer. His attack was an unrelated coincidence, but make no mistake that it will happen again. I have been tasked with preventing future incidents."**

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"**We can start, Mrs. Fenton, by refortifying your residence. I have some suggestions to make it much more durable. Phantom,"** the robot continued without missing a beat, **"head for the crisis area. Samantha and Tucker, remain here. I will be making mandatory upgrades to your homes as well."**

"I'll, er . . . call you. You know, if something comes up," Phantom addressed his parents. "And I know we have a lot to talk about. Like, a _lot_. A whole _big lot of_-"

"Danny, they need you," his mother interrupted with a warm smile.

"Go show 'em how it's done, kiddo," Jack piqued up proudly. "We'll be here when you get back."

"I'm proud of you little brother," Jazz said softly.

He hovered over to Sam and Tucker as Optimus began explaining his plans for the new Cybertronian security system. "This is surreal," Tucker remarked as the Autobot supreme commander lifted Jack up to a shattered window. "I mean, look at all this."

Phantom looked at the ground sadly. "I wish there wasn't more bad than good. My fight with Elliot didn't end well."

Sam and Tucker exchanged worried looks. Phantom's words likely carried a much more serious implication. "Hey, come on, Danny," Sam offered. "Things get worse before they get better."

"That shouldn't mean people have to die because of me."

"People die every day, dude. You'd blame yourself for natural causes if you could, but I'll cut you some slack because this has been a pretty emotional day." Tucker paused to readjust his hat. "You have our support like you have from the start. Now you have your parents in addition to Jazz. Whether you'll admit it or not, things are looking up for you."

"Thanks guys. Really. So much has changed since the beginning, and I . . . I don't know what I'd do without you."

"We're here for you, Danny."

_**Aren't you forgetting something, Daniel?**_

_What?_

**You FOOL!!! SSSSAAAAAAMMMM!!! **

Phantom grinned._ Oh, right._ "I know, Sam. And when this is all over, you and I need to talk."

"About wha-?"

Phantom caught her midsentence. It wasn't deep and romantic, but it wasn't a quick peck either. It lasted barely two seconds, but the kiss felt . . . right. Before Sam could begin to think about what just happened, Phantom was already tearing through the sky in the direction of the crisis zone.

Tucker gaped in amazement, but then in horror. He hadn't even thought to record the tender, money making moment that had transpired before him! If his best friend's words were any indication, however, there would be plenty more chances to rake in the profit. In the meantime . . .

"So . . . you get any ghost tongue?"

He tensed in anticipation of the inevitable retaliatory strike, but it never came. He opened one of his eyes and saw the girl standing, rooted to the spot where her Phantom had shattered the boundaries of the friend zone. She looked at Tucker with bliss dancing in her face.

"Not this time."

**

* * *

  
**

Clockwork grinned as the introduction of Optimus Prime went as smoothly as he had predicted. It was dangerous combining even two different realities, but certain risks needed to be taken. Danny Phantom needed to be tested to ensure that he was up to the challenge of protecting his planet from foes even greater than Walker. Turning from his central view screen, the Master of Time selected his carefully chosen warriors and froze their respective realities. It would have been a stretch even for him, but as luck would have it, he was not forced to act alone. Multiple realities had all been frozen to prevent their disruption in the absence of their heroes– something that needed to be done to ensure the safety of the multiverse. Of course, this course of action put it in grave danger, but no more danger than inaction would expose it to.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you, old friend," Clockwork apologized. "I understand your aversion to tampering with reality."

The subject of the ghost's apology held up a hand to keep the Master of Time from continuing. "There is no need to apologize. I have seen the future of this reality, and I am . . . frightened by it. The concept itself is new to me."

"Yet another thing we have in common," Clockwork's body rapidly aged into his elderly form as he prepared to explain his concerns of the future. "What frightens me is the temporal disturbance that prevents me from seeing the event that causes the boy's rise to power."

"And by bringing about this war, you hope to test the goodness of his heart; to see if he can handle the strain of what lies ahead."

"Precisely. The future where Danny Phantom becomes evil is no longer the predominant one as it used to be. I have seen futures where his good will is so powerful that he brings about an existence without the balance of good and evil and is able to sustain it."

"I presume that is the one you're aiming for, Clockwork?"

The Time Master chuckled. "Somewhere close to it, Ghost Writer. Somewhere close."

* * *

The Terror Tower had collapsed mostly in one direction, effectively cutting off emergency rescue crews from getting to the other side of the rubble. While an obvious course of action would be to just go around, nearby buildings had been heavily damaged and structurally weakened by the fall. Some smaller, surrounding structures had already toppled, and combined with the multitude of abandoned automobiles, it was tedious work getting to the far side of the building. Helicopters had already dropped off some crews, and rescue vehicles from all outfits were slowly arriving, having taken the long way around. The damage was so intense, Phantom observed with some degree of rising anger that it couldn't have been done by a human.

Using his emotions to fuel his energy, Phantom dove at the felled building and intangibly dove through the remains. Onlookers gasped, cheered, shouted, booed, and expressed all other sorts of reactions. When he reemerged from the concrete with a group of twenty survivors, his reception became unanimously positive. His work went on as such for hours, and more often than not he was greeted with the grisly remains of the tower's occupants. He nearly broke down several times. No fourteen-year-old should have to witness such atrocities up close, but he pressed on. The city – his city – needed him to be strong; a symbol of hope in these dark times. And the dark times came as night fell over the city. The world watched in morbid fascination as the object of so many different feelings worked himself to the limit to recover the casualties of this attack.

It had been close to five in the evening when Phantom began his operation. It was one thirty the next morning when he finally couldn't take anymore.

**I could see how this would get to you. **

_**It is a gruesome thing, this recovery effort. Nobody expects children to do this sort of thing.**_

_NOBODY should have to do this sort of thing! You two sensed it, this was a ghost attack. This was MY fault!_

**Stop blaming yourself, Daniel. **

_No! There's no way to tiptoe around this. If I never got these powers, none of these attacks would have happened! None of these people would be dead!_

_**Consider this, then. Without your powers, who would be alive to foil Plasmius' plans of world domination? She would have killed your mother and your sister long ago, and you would now be her step-son. Perhaps she wouldn't have bothered keeping you alive. Without your powers you're worthless to her. Then who would be able to stop her wanton lust for power? The world would be ground under her heel, and the Ghost Zone alike, with no one who could oppose her. So these humans died. And it was likely some ghost searching for you. Blame yourself if you must, but there is no way to prevent all of this. You do what you can. Nobody can ask for more of you.**_

**Especially not today. You need rest.**

_**We will filter out these unsavory memories so you won't be burdened with the more vivid details. **_

_But they still need my help._

**They will manage. You have swept this entire place more times than I care to count.**

_**Not that you ever could count . . .**_

**And, should your hero complex force you to assist the cleanup effort, you'll need all the energy you can muster. **

It was true that the day had taken a toll on him, physically and mentally. He still needed to talk to his parents, and he still needed to talk to Sam. The rescue teams had already dispersed to the surrounding areas, and construction vehicles of all sorts were arriving on the scene in preparation of the long road of work ahead. Deciding not to fight against the voices in his head, and deciding that he was still not used to the concept of having voices in his head, Phantom rose up into the air and turned invisible before flying off into the night sky. Even though the air was still blanketed with a thinning layer of smoke, some brighter stars managed to shine through.

_**Before you end this night on such a touching note for the audience, there's one more stop you have to make.**_

**The Guys in White have the one responsible in chains, like Optimus said.**

_**And there is more to this situation than-**_

_DON'T SAY IT!_

_**-meets the eye.**_

_. . . I hate you sometimes._

**You'll thank us later when you have a good night's sleep without nightmares.**

_I'll think about it._

Amity Park Penitentiary quickly came into view. Was there really more going on than a random ghost attack? Phantom almost wished there wasn't.

* * *

Skulker stepped from the cybernetic repair chamber cautiously; making sure his wounds had healed. Satisfied that he could move without pain and see, he scanned the room for Plasmius. She did not appear on any of his scanners, which meant she was not invisibly hiding in the room and spying on him. Perfect.

In his new body, Skulker 2.0 was incapable of spectrally powered flight, intangibility, or any other ghost powers. Without Kaine Manson, he simply wasn't strong enough. That did not deter the ghost mercenary from silently finding his way into the lower chambers of Plasmius' lab. Along the wall were several cryo-stasis pods; machines designed to hold their occupants in suspended animation. Skulker knew the first three were occupied with Plasmius' latest successes. The fourth was empty, and the fifth contained the legendary mercenary himself. Kaine Manson no longer appeared as a toad-like blob. Separated from his conglomerate body, he appeared as he did the day he died. A tall, built man with a short hair cut. Horrible burns covered his face. He also had no jaw. Manson had made the ultimate sacrifice to save innocent lives. Skulker 2.0 doubted that shielding dozens of women and children from an incendiary grenade by putting it in ones mouth was the first logical choice. But seeing as how all innocents involved had survived, then perhaps it wasn't all bad. It was interesting that his skull had remained intact, but Skulker wasn't visiting the immobilized form of his old consciousness to perform an autopsy.

Interfacing with the pod was simple enough, but it had risks. Skulker entered a new plane of perception as he psychically communicated with Kaine.

"**Manson, can you hear me?"**

"_W-wha-? What has happened?"_

"**Plasmius deemed you unfit to serve her any longer. She separated you from me and put your body on ice to prevent deterioration."**

"_You? You were me?"_

"**I have been upgraded, so to speak. We haven't much time. Do you have a niece?"**

"_Why do you need to know that?"_

"**Plasmius effectively erased my personal memory of you and our shared time together. I was sent to assassinate Madeline Fenton and nearly took the life of Samantha Manson as well. She called me . . . Uncle Kaine."**

"_Then you have your answer."_

"**And you jeopardized her life by placing it above your job? You interfered with Plasmius' schemes so that Samantha would not be hurt?"**

"_What would you have done?"_

"**Ignored her. Paid her no mind. By revealing her relationship to you, you have made her a target of Plasmius. You are fortunate that she did not try to use that relationship against you."**

"_That hardly matters now."_

"**I just needed to be sure."**

"_Before you go, can you promise me something? Can you promise me that, no matter what happens, no matter what you're made to do, you won't let her get hurt?"_

"**I can promise you that I will do my best. That will have to be enough for you. Goodbye, Manson. Rest in peace."**

* * *

Phantom had been to the Guys in White headquarters once before. After the Shadow Phantom incident, they had taken him in for testing to make sure the shadow ghost was truly gone. He knew the entrance was not through the front doors, but around the back. The only problem was that the only _visible_ entrance to the massive subterranean structure was an old water tower. The penitentiary was built into a cliff wall. The water tower stood somewhat awkwardly above the prison. Flying in closer, Phantom spied a white-suited figure standing on the flattened top of the tower.

"I need to talk with Operatives O and K. It's important," Phantom declared once he was close enough to the startled Agent.

The man was clearly a rookie. "S-sir?" he muttered into his cuff radio, "I have a – yes, it's Phantom, he wants to see – what? O-ok, yes sir. Right away, sir." The middle of the circular roof split into multiple curved fragments and retreated into the roof, exposing an elevator platform. "Agent X cleared you. Go on in."

"Thanks. And mister? Your shoe's untied."

The elevator rapidly descended into the tower, leaving the flustered Agent alone to fix his laces. Phantom waited until the elevator reached the bottom of its track and stepped onto the stainless steel floor of the government agency's headquarters. K and O were already waiting for him.

"A little bird told me you have the guy responsible for that," Phantom pointed to a monitor that was displaying CNN's coverage of the Terror Tower disaster. "I want to see him."

"No can do. He's being interrogated a few floors down. When they're done with him, we'll let you see him." O paused as K handed him a clipboard. "In the meantime, we have even more bad news for you."

Phantom sighed. "How could this get any worse?"

"Damn, kid, haven't you ever heard of Murphy's Law?" Danny cocked his head to the side and shrugged. "Apparently not. Well follow us for your first lesson."

K and O strode off. Phantom, unable to keep pace with them by just walking, hovered close behind the Operatives as they headed for a conference room. There were already people inside, and a projection screen was displaying some decidedly green images. Phantom could only assume that this meant the Ghost Zone was definitely involved. Not much of a surprise there.

O walked up to the door and didn't have to slow his pace as the panel silently slid into the wall. The three quietly entered the room and remained in the back so as to not disrupt the discussion. Agent X was standing at the front of the room. Phantom could make out some of the people sitting near the front. The Box Ghost sat near the corner. Several seats in were two men who looked suspiciously like the President and Vice President. Other important-looking figures were seated near the front of the room. In the corner, Phantom saw a strange being that looked like an eyeball adorned with robes. It observed the room without moving in the slightest.

Phantom turned to Operative K. "What is all this?"

"This meeting was called to decide what to do about the impending invasion we're facing," Jackson replied in a hushed voice, noting the look of horror that was now on Phantom's face. "The Terror Tower fiasco is about to be the least of our worries."

Phantom finally managed to make out Agent X's words from his spot in the back of the room. The leader of the GiW spoke sternly, and was not visibly or audibly affected by the terrifying news he was relating to his audience. "The boys down in the research labs have crunched some numbers. The movement we detected is directed towards one of the many portals in or around Amity Park."

"Can we shut 'em down? Close the portals or . . . or block 'em somehow?"

Phantom was convinced; that was definitely the President.

"Unfortunately, shutting down the portals from our end only prevents us from getting into the Ghost Zone. The energy barriers we would need to construct to make that a reality would create explosions on par with the Tunguska event. Now consider if each of those barriers were destroyed simultaneously."

Agent X had a way with words; his message as crystal clear. "The movement we detected is being created by something larger than anything we've ever encountered. Probes were sent into the Ghost Zone to see just what was making all this movement. We found this."

Almost everyone in the room gasped in shock. Hushed worries and whispered concerns spread like wildfire through the audience. Even the Box Ghost looked a little pale. What was the source of this universal discomfort? A fleet of ships sailed through the Ghost Zone. There were far too many to count, but they numbered well over ten thousand, and those were just the large ones; hundreds of thousands of smaller vessels zipped between their larger counterparts. And most frightening of all was a vessel, the size of which eclipsed anything Phantom (and everyone else in the room) had ever seen. It flew abovethe ships beneath it, encompassing every last one of them in its shadow. Its sleek design and unusual buildlooked alien even by Ghost Zone standards.

"We have run the measurements through hundreds of times. For scale, here is a map of the United States." The image appeared on the screen behind Agent X. "The red shape is the length of the ship." The rectangular panhandle of Oklahoma was covered by a red oval shape. More nervous whispers swept through the room. "We're looking at a ship that is roughly one hundred and sixty five miles long."

The room was now scared silent. Even the eyeball ghost in the corner fidgeted.

"The ship is not composed of any alloy known on Earth or the Ghost Zone," X continued. "Ectoplasmic scans turned up nothing and the radiation it does give off is completely foreign to us, which leads us to believe that it is composed of elements we didn't know existed. What you're looking at is not only an extraterrestrial space ship, but an extra-dimensional one as well; alien to Earth and the Ghost Zone alike."

K leaned over and tapped Phantom on the shoulder. "Heard enough?"

Phantom nodded, unable to find his voice. K and O led the way back through the automated door and down the hall to another room, this one was empty.

"How does that grab ya?" K asked with a sardonic grin.

"You think this is funny? How am I supposed to stop all of those things? And that big one?! Who needs to make something even a fifteenth of that size?!"

"Not sure, kid. What we do know is that we need to get you ready."

"Ready for what?"

Operative O chuckled coldly. "You think this is going to be a localized event? One of your silly ghost-in-thermos escapades? There are more ships in that fleet than all the offensive vehicles on the planet combined. Even if we did get all of them here in sunny old California, we'd be wiped out before we could fire a second salvo. This is going to span the globe, Daniel. And we need to prepare you – you and everyone you know – on how to deal with the rest of the world once this hits the fan."

* * *

There was a certain beauty to the Ghost Zone that was taken for granted. The swirling infinities of the ethereal realm never ceased to amaze and calm. Possibilities and opportunities beyond comprehension lurked in the chasms of the decidedly green dimension. It truly was beautiful. It truly was amazing. Inside the unfathomably gargantuan extra-dimensional alien vessel, Walker basked in the beauty and amazement that the Ghost Zone caressed him with. Around him beat the heart of a machine so startling that it was itself beautiful and amazing. A command chair that challenged the Sears Tower in height sat in the middle of an otherwise empty control room and Walker stood on the seat of that chair, marveling at the technological feat that his new weapon was.

With a thought, a digital display of thousands of different characters materialized in front of the chair. Walker had wondered how much longer his journey would take. Some of the displayed symbols rotated, others blinked, some faded in and out – there were too many to take in all the features. This truly was an all encompassing machine. Closest to his eyes, Walker spied human and Ghost Zone languages and was surprised at how tiny a space was needed to encompass all of two dimension's languages. How many worlds had this vessel seen?

The display told him that the time left before his conquest would begin was in the area of a week, but the actual time was fluctuating, appearing to decrease faster than it should have been, given the speed the ship was the ship accelerated? Was it responding to the emotion that drove its new master? With this technology, Walker left nothing to absolutes; anything was possible.

Like a giant predatory sea creature, _The Atrum Navitas_ slid through the ectoplasmic dimension with streamlined grace. While he meditated on his inevitable victory, Walker watched his infant brother sleeping on Desiree's lap in his prison lair. In another part of the Ghost Zone, Wulf played with villager children from Bullet's tribe. In the human world, Walker observed the turning of gears that would facilitate the conclusion of his time-spanning war.

To Be Continued

_A/N: I hope it was worth the wait. This was way worse before Cordria edited it, so she deserves a big round of applause. Or, like, your acknowledgement. From experience, I know how hard it is to clap and have someone hear it online._

_So I got Halo Wars last week and I've been having some fun with it. I read some stuff about the Zerg Rush strategy for RTS games so I figured I'd try it. And it worked! Only the thing about Halo Wars is that, if you play skirmish mode on the Automatic difficulty setting, it gets tougher to compensate for your increasing skill. My "increasing skill" was mostly dumb luck and noobish jackassery, so when the Auto setting jumped almost 10 levels to compensate for my "spike in awesomeness", the Zerg Rush strategy didn't work so well. My win/loss ratio isn't going to be looking so pretty anymore..._

_Uh, anyway, go watch some Spectacular Spider-Man and Transformers Animated. They've gotten way awesome and you'll love them. Or you should._

_Omega Supreme thanks to_ Cordria_, who is keeping this story on track (my feeble man brain tends to fail at making sense). And thanks to the rest of you, with your positive comments that give me an extra boost when college gets to be a little much._

_Special thanks goes to_ gadrak-the-forbidden-one, cdunn2010, Lockblade, Cordira _(again)_, Chemical Brain, MasterCheifSamus117, Vorago Atrox, Billy D., Yugisrose, darkbunny92, , Kryptonian250, alienphantom, The Golden Hat, gab4eva24, Reaper 96, OutlawKnight, Jiece18, _and_ Monte-chan.  
(Sorry if I forgot you or misspelled your name. Don't think I did, but it has been a while.)

Keep an eye out for another uber-long chapter of Redemption, which is near completion. But above all, have a nice day.

_EDIT: Fixed some stuff. Also, why isn't there a character search/categorization option for Undergrowth? There's one for, I think, every major character except for him. He's the baddie who kicked off season 3 in the States, not to mention the fact that he was voiced by Mark Hamill, the same guy who played Luke Skywalker and voiced the Joker in Batman TAS. FFN needs to get its priorities in order... Ok I'm done.  
_

**We do what we must . . . even if it sometimes doesn't make sense. -Ratchet**


	103. Dead Men Walking 3

Chapter CXI

**Daniel has some very unusual dreams.**

_**Yes, I suspect it is connected to his other half. We could very well be responsible for these dreams.**_

A kaleidoscope of imagery swirled beneath the protoconsciousness' manifested forms. The tall and spindly Tempest kept his sparkling blue eyes on the "sky" where various hues of blue churned in rhythmic pulsations. Iridescent flashes of green lightning shot from cloud to cloud, charging each one with ethereal energies. Rain fell in circular patterns like so many tornadoes, dancing along the ground and gently swaying the grass to and fro. Folium's intense, dark green irises were aimed at the flowers that blossomed in waves of rainbows across the dreamscape. Vines sprouted from the soil carrying the fruits of a burdened hero. The scene unfolding in Daniel Fenton's subconscious was wondrous to behold; a shame not even he would remember it.

_**I have calculated a significantly high risk in our plan for escape.**_

**I thought everything was good to go. What's the problem?**

_**Our liberation places Daniel in a very vulnerable position. I do not know if he will survive the process.**_

**So what if he doesn't? We'll be free at last! **

_**Our lives are insignificant. We exist to ensure he fulfills his destiny. We cannot do so if he is dead.**_

**Why is this our problem? What about his destiny makes us worthless?**

_**Do not play the fool, brother. The survival of two whole dimensions is at stake. If he perishes before he can eliminate the threat of the Reality Gauntlet, then we will be doomed as well.**_

**So this drive to keep him alive is just to make sure he doesn't get us killed?**

_**In the unfortunate event that we are destroyed, do you wish to face Judgment with the blood of two dimensions on your hands?**_

**. . . You've made your point. So what about our contact? Can she know of the risks involved with the purge? **

_**No, she has agreed to assist us for her own twisted intentions. If she discovers that Daniel may not survive then she may refuse to assist us**_

**Alright, so we keep it quiet. Let's say that this doesn't work, that we give it a hundred and ten percent and we're still trapped inside Danny's head. Do you have a Plan B?**

An earsplitting roar echoed through the dreamscape. Beneath their feet, a fissure in the crust of this imagined paradise opened to swallow the unnatural beauty. Molten lava, green in color, bubbled to through the crack in the earth and crawled along the fields with the intent of consuming everything in its path. The flora withered and burned to ash. The clouds of soothing, oceanic blue faded to a depressing charcoal grey, and the jovial green lightning lashed out in vicious strikes of purple and red. The world behind Daniel's closed eyes washed away to blackness as he awoke from his slumber.

_**I do. I just pray that we are not forced to implement it.**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

"You know what sucks about this?"

Danny looked from his uneaten pizza to his best friend. Tucker was in between dinosaur-sized bites of his sandwich. "No, what?"

"We've missed so much school this year, we're probably gonna have to repeat this whole grade."

If Danny's appetite had been lacking before, it was completely gone now. "You're right!"

Tucker opened his mouth to inhale the rest of his lunch when Kwan walked by and, quite disdainfully, threw a crumpled up twenty dollar bill on Tucker's lunch tray. The teen grinned and pocketed the cash before getting back to his meal.

"What was that about?"

Tucker looked from Danny to Sam and back to his sandwich. "Nothing. He owed me some money."

"Come to think of it," Sam pondered as she slid closer to Danny, "A lot of people have been giving you money today. Any particular reason?"

Tucker shrugged his shoulders. "A lot of people owe me money."

"For what?"

Tucker reached for his water. "For stuff," he replied before engaging the plastic bottle.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with me and Danny, would it?"

Feigning surprise, Tucker set down his drink and stared intently at his friends. "Is that what you think?"

"Well considering everything that's been going on recently, you betting on Sam and I dating doesn't sound nearly as farfetched."

"I could run those numbers past my baby if you want to see how statistically implausible it would be for me to do such an abhorrent thing," Tucker offered, holding his PDA up.

"I've been meaning to ask you something. You're always typing away on that dumb thing, but you don't have any games on it or anything. What exactly do you do on that thing all day?"

Tucker frowned and looked at his coveted device. "I keep a journal, mostly. I figure someday we won't . . . _be here_, and someone might want to know how it all went down." The techno-geek saw Danny's worried expression. "Don't worry," he added, "I still have all my anti-Technus firewalls and the like. He's not getting anywhere near this thing."

"That's not exactly what I was getting at," Phantom murmured quietly. "But you're right. Someday we won't be here to tell our story. I'm worried that day might be sooner than later."

"Come on, dude, you can-"

"I can what, fire off some beams, phase through some missiles, land a few punches, and then what? I can't fight Walker. And how the hell am I supposed to fight a space ship larger than this entire city? Even if I do take them both down, there's no way I can turn right around and lay the smack down on a bazillion ghosts and just as many more ships."

"So what, you're giving up already?"

Those violet irises; Danny had a hard time reading them. One second, they looked like two beautiful orbs of compassion and tenderness, frozen on the face of an angel. The next second, it looked as though they would start swirling around their respective pupils like mini, purple hurricanes. At the moment, they looked like the latter.

"I'm going to fight this thing to my last breath, but I don't think it's going to be enough."

Thoughtfully sliding his PDA into one of his many cargo pockets, Tucker crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "You have our support; you always have. You have the support of your whole family, and the backing of the government. You aren't fighting this alone."

A grin appeared on Danny's face. "Thanks guys. It might sound strange, but I hope I don't have to tell any more people. The last thing I need is someone finding out I'm-"

"The Huntress!"

"- a girl?" Danny looked over at the person who had shouted and followed her gaze to the window. Sure enough, the Huntress was hovering just on the other side of the cafeteria wall. Valerie was still wearing her new outfit, which meant she wasn't wearing a mask.

"Oh man," Danny ducked under his lunch table while the masses of students rushed to get a better view. "Is everyone facing away from me?"

"You're fine," Sam confirmed. "Do your thing!"

"Going ghost!"

It felt good to use the battle cry. Danny felt as if he hadn't been able to proclaim the painfully obvious in quite some time. Although he was forced to whisper the words, there was a deeper meaning to them that filled the teenager with a sense of power. Or perhaps the sense of power came from his transformation. Yeah, that was probably it. The bright green ring formed at his waist and split in two, speeding along the length of his body. In less than a second, it was Phantom who was crouched under the cafeteria table, not Danny Fenton. The ghost boy made a motion to stand, but accidentally knocked Sam's knee into a support bar.

"Ow!"

"Sorry! Sorry, I just need to-"

"What are you doing down there?!"

"Sorry! I'm a little cramped. If I can squeeze through this way, maybe I can-"

Tucker felt his ankle make contact with another steel bar a split second before the spike of pain shot up his leg. "Jeez! Come on, dude, what are you trying to do, cripple me?"

"I said it was cramped down here! There's too many bars to just crawl over, I think I-"

"Hey, _Phantom_?"

"Yes, Sam?"

"Phantom the _ghost boy_? Who can walk through walls, disappear, and fly?"

". . . What are you getting at?"

Sam leaned over so that she could see clearly under the table. The sight that greeted her eyes made her sigh in exasperation, although she was straining not to burst into laughter. There was the infamous Phantom, tangled in the cafeteria table's support bar structure like silly putty.

"Go intangible?"

Phantom looked back at the rest of his body and pouted. "Right. I, uh, forgot I could do that." Before either of his two friends could rebuke him for his memory lapse, Phantom disappeared from sight and slipped through the floor.

It didn't take long for Phantom to reappear outside. He floated behind Valerie, arms folded across his chest and a serious expression on his face. "Care to explain why you're flying around the school?"

Valerie turned to face him. Her face conveyed that she was in a good mood, or at least as good a mood as possible given the circumstances. "You pop up here pretty often. Why _is _that?"

"I'm getting my GED."

Valerie rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you didn't fly past this place to reveal your identity. What's going on?"

"Guys in White sent me. Wanted me to bring you back for some questions."

Phantom's eyes narrowed. "An interrogation?"

"Dunno, didn't tell me. X isn't in a very good mood."

"Agent X sent you? Not Operatives K and O?"

"Who?"

"Never mind." Phantom headed off for the water tower above the penitentiary. Valerie fell in behind him. "I don't need an escort, thanks."

"You're right, you just happen to be going in the same direction I'm going."

"X actually trusts me?" Phantom looked over his shoulder.

Valerie shrugged. "How should I know? If they didn't, I'm sure they would've come for you themselves. It's probably no big deal."

* * *

"So when exactly were you planning on telling us about your transforming friend?"

Phantom squirmed under Agent X's gaze. The sunglasses were menacing, but the ghost boy had a feeling that it would be more uncomfortable if he could actually see the man's eyes.

"I . . . didn't think he was important?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?" X's voice dripped with venom.

"I didn't think it was something that needed to be brought up."

"And when were you planning on telling us about your relationship to this ghost?" The projection screen at the other end of Agent X's office blinked on, showing an image of Walker. Phantom's throat went dry. "Your son from the future?"

"H-how did you find out about-"

"You think you're the only ghost who we communicate with?" X didn't wait for an answer. "What about this ghost?" Phantom's white, amorphous offspring appeared on the screen. "Not only is this thing your spawn from the present, but he's yours AND the Huntress'?"

"That's not my fault!" Phantom jumped to his feet. "None of those are my fault!"

"We're investigating the giant robot, but how do you explain two ghosts who are your own offspring spawn running around dimensions when you're only fourteen?"

Images of a world turned against him flashed through Phantom's mind. If Plasmius found out that he'd betrayed her dual identity, she'd have him exposed to the world in hours. Minutes, even. "Walker says he's from the future. He told me I do terrible things and . . . take over the world."

"Who is the mother? Someone you know?"

". . . Yes."

"Who?"

Phantom hesitated.

"That Manson girl?"

"No! I-it's Paulina. Paulina Sanchez. She goes to my school."

Something hit Phantom on the back. Looking over to examine the cause, Phantom caught a nod of approval from Operative K while his commander's attention was diverted. Typical.

X scribbled something down on his clipboard. "We'll deal with the future when it happens. But I want to know what possessed you to have . . . relations with Miss Grey and-"

Phantom scowled. "You might run the show when I'm Phantom, but what I do as Danny Fenton is none of your business. And it didn't . . . _happen _like that. It was completely different."

"Care to enlighten me?"

Phantom took a deep breath. "A parasite from the Ghost Zone slipped through to our dimension. It sapped some of my DNA and then impregnated Valerie. It was part machine-"

"Techno-organic?"

Phantom nodded. "Technus was trying to capture it or something, so I, uh, _convinced _him to help me get it out of Valerie. He removed the techno part and removed the rest of it from her before it exploded out of her chest . . . or whatever it was gonna do."

"And this parasite wasn't connected with any other ectoplasmic entities that you know of?"

"It wasn't exactly the talkative sort."

More notes were scribbled down. "This all seems so surreal," the man muttered under his breath. "Kid, we're facing the possible extinction of the human race. There's an armada of ships with enough firepower to blow us all to Hell and back led by a psychopath who wants you dead. This kind of thing would've been nice to know beforehand."

"I didn't know how to tell you that I turn evil and take over the world in a way that would keep you from vaporizing me."

"Fair enough. K, O, show him the door."

X watched the agents lead the ghost boy out of the room and down the hall. The door sealed shut behind them leaving Agent X in the absence of any human company.

"That was almost informative. At least now we know he tells the truth." A hulking silhouette stepped forward from the wall. X regarded Wulf with indifference. "The saboteur is ready to accompany you back to Walker's ship. Can you get him there safely? Don't answer that. I still can't understand Esperanto." X sat at his desk and gently massaged his temples. "Go on, get out."

The lupine specter growled and phased back through the wall. Satisfied that Wulf was gone, X opened the intercom to the medical bay. "Operative M?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What did you find out about the gauntlet Mr. Showenhower was wearing?"

"Sir, we've done every sort of scan possible. Infrared, Ultraviolet, X-Ray, we've even done Gamma and Ectoplasm scans. The gauntlet just . . . vanished sometime between when we arrested him and brought him to the penitentiary. We have to assume that an associate of his intangibly took it from him."

"I want you to make absolutely sure it's gone. If he's carrying it around with him in the jail upstairs, we're going to have a serious problem on our hands."

"Understood, sir. We'll keep looking."

* * *

**It is good that you could meet with us.**

_**We must finalize this plan before we are tied up in your employee's affairs.**_

HE IS NOT MY EMPLOYEE. HE SERVES WALKER, LIKE THAT TRAITOR TECHNUS.

**What difference does it make?**

_**None, to us. We are not here to argue over the allegiances of your servants. You understand why we summoned you; let us get to the point.**_

**Freakshow is being held temporarily in the penitentiary. You need to spring him. **

HE IS SURELY BEING HELD BY THE GUYS IN WHITE IN THEIR SUBTERRANEAN BASE. I CANNOT PENETRATE THEIR ECTOPLASMIC SHIELD.

_**He was being held there, from what we've gathered from Daniel's time spent in the base and our own observations. However, we have picked up his very erratic brainwaves coming from the above-ground jail. **_

**And the jail isn't shielded. The GIW may be thorough, but they are also stingy. There's no reason to fund a ectoplasmic shield for a human prison that holds only human prisoners. And besides, they have no reason to suspect anyone of trying to break him out. Even Freakshow doesn't even suspect it.**

WHILE YOUR OFFER IS INTRIGUING, I AM QUITE SKEPTICAL. WHY GO THROUGH SO MUCH EFFORT ON MY BEHALF?

_**We know you monitored our early communications. We know that you know that our continued existence in Daniel's mind will eventually cause his mind to unravel. Recent events, however, have accelerated the degeneration process. **_

**We don't have as much time as we thought we had.**

SO DANIEL WILL PERISH IF I DO NOT AID IN YOUR EXTRACTION?

_**Precisely.**_

HOW DOES FREAKSHOW COME INTO PLAY?

_**We believe Freakshow's mental state has been dramatically altered by his usage of the Reality Gauntlet. He has become malevolent, and we can use that malevolence to induce a psychological episode in Daniel's mind. **_

**It won't be pretty, but the resulting shock will allow us to free ourselves from Daniel's mind. **

_**At which point we will gladly offer our consciousnesses to you for your experimentation.**_

AND I AM SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL COME TO ME WILLINGLY AND GIVE UP YOUR FREEDOM SO SOON?

**Where else will we go? We can't exist for long without a body.**

_**You are our only chance for attaining physical forms of our own. We understand that you have several otherwise unsuccessful experiments desperately in need of souls.**_

VERY WELL. I SHALL REMOVE FREAKSHOW FROM PRISON AND PERSUADE HIM TO ASSAULT DANIEL'S ALREADY-FRAGILE PSYCHE. JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU TWO SERVE ME NOW, AND I AM NO LONGER LEINIENT TOWARDS TRAITORS.

_**Understood, Plasmius. But be cautious during your prison visit. **_

**There's more to Freakshow than meets the eye.**

To Be Continued

A/N: I have no excuse for being so late with this. However, I worked out all the little bugs I had with this chapter and the rest of the segment and I think it's going to blow your mind. Or you will find it mildly enjoyable to read and then forget every detail within the next several days. Most of you will probably opt for option 2.

Go see Star Trek. Like, now.

Special thanks to gadrak-the-forbidden-one, Bloxham, Cordria, Chemical Brain, alienphantom, OutlawKnight, darkbunny92, Billy D., Sworn Alliance, xXxHayaiUrufuNagareboshixXx, Nyrrari, and Monte-chan. Extra special thanks to Cordria for beta-editing. This chapter wasn't as messy as the last one, but it still needed a bit of work. Here's hoping I can do even better next time.

**I like my women like I like my instant oatmeal packets; quick, easy, and covered in facts about dinosaurs. –lefthandedtoonsdotcom.**


	104. Dead Men Walking 4

What had the famous poets likened the night sky to? Did the sonnets describe the irony of the dark, heavy blanket that did not warm the earth? Were the stars, infinite in number, holes in this blanket that gave glimpses into the days beyond? What would they show if one could get close enough to see through them?Such thoughts briefly entered Plasmius' mind as she soared above the city, but her focus was not on the stars above, rather the structure directly in front of her.

Amity Park Penitentiary was intimidating enough in the day. Storm clouds seemed to form over the prison before sweeping down into the city. In the night, illuminated by so many search lights, it reminded Plasmius of someone about to tell a scary story with a flashlight held to his or her face, angled in such a way to accentuate the shadows. If this prison could be compared to a story teller's face, the prisoners inside could be as the thoughts inside the head, each more gruesome and terrifying than the last. A shame the most intriguing thought would be liberated from this mind.

Doubt was not something Plasmius allowed to slow her progress. Setbacks with machinery or insufficient data on a target were acceptable (to an extent), but neither of those made the ghost woman second-guess her abilities. This night was different. For the first time in a very, very long time, Plasmius doubted.

She doubted her sanity as of late. Telepathically communicating with the voices in Daniel's head was the first sign that she might be losing it, but the voices had yet to ask her to burn things. Perhaps they were not the result of schizophrenia.

Deciding that she was as sane as could be allowed for one in her position, Plasmius wondered if the voices were sane, if such classifications could be given to voices. Freakshow was a potentially - no, an _extremely_ dangerous man. Hundreds dead and more wounded all by him alone and those voices asked that Plasmius free him from his prison. It was not a strategically sound move, unleashing a volatile unknown into an expertly controlled experiment. It would, however, make Plasmius' research go much more smoothly.

As easily as a shark swims through water, Plasmius passed through the outer wall of the prison and made her way inside. It was unfortunate that her telepathic abilities were limited to communication with Daniel's others. She might have been able to pinpoint Freakshow's location without frugally searching for him. Perhaps she would have even reached him in time.

* * *

Fleas! Ticks! Mites! Where had these teeny, tiny creepy crawlies come from? No time for stupid questions, only time to pick them off before they could spread! Mmm. Why did it matter where they came from, they were delicious!

Pale, bony fingers plucked the small creatures from their claimed estate on the black leather vest that hung loosely around Frederick's shoulders. It wasn't until Mr. Showenhower noticed his fingers were actually gold in color and metallic in composition that he stopped to consider the reality of the infestation on his person. With that simple thought, the fleas and ticks and mites vanished. He had been sitting in his prison cell picking imaginary bugs from his body and eating them? How very embarrassing. Interesting, however, that the Reality Gauntlet had chosen to reappear now. Even Mr. Showenhower himself had thought it disappeared when the Guys in White could not locate it on his arm. And yet, it was still there. Quite interesting indeed. If it was still there, then that meant it was still active. If it was still active . . .

Research into the artifact revealed a touch-activated pattern was required to unlock the gauntlet's full power. With only three gems in the combination, Frederick surmised even an idiot could eventually discover the right combination. However, the gems would scatter throughout the infinitude of the Ghost Zone if the correct pattern was not entered the first time; a safeguard to ensure an idiot would not be given the opportunity of eventuality.

Even without the Gems of Life, Form, and Fantasy, the gauntlet could still tap into the vast and potent energies of the power gem. It appeared to also have some reality-warping effects, evidenced by the hallucination at the Terror Tower event and the vision of parasitic infestation only moments ago. Mr. Showenhower thought it strange, but a sensation compelled him to consider the possibility that the gauntlet had drawn attention to itself using the parasites to force him to focus on his fingers, his hand and, subsequently, the gauntlet that encased them. If it wanted him to remember it was there, then it must have had a reason.

A glowing red aura surrounded the gauntlet, and Frederick smiled. Oh yes, it had a very good reason.

* * *

Plasmius felt the before she heard the explosion that caused it. Her body was violently jarred from its intangible state and slammed into the wall immediately behind her. The remainder of the building on her level between herself and Freakshow slammed into her, further compressing her body and burying her in a large quantity of debris.

It took only a moment for the ghost woman to regain her bearings and her intangibility. She quickly phased through the now-destroyed prison complex and scanned the remains. Undoubtedly, Freakshow had devised his own escape and, judging by the fact that the explosion was able to affect her while she was intangible, he must have retrieved the Reality Gauntlet somehow. Plasmius noted the skeletons that only seconds previously had provided the framework for several hundred human beings. Such a disregard for human life was . . . _satisfying_. And better still, Freakshow had escaped before she had a chance to get to him. The mere mention of his betrayal in conversation could have left him as one of those skeletons.

So Frederick Showenhower was free. Now those scheming voices could spin their webs to ensure their escape. All the while, Plasmius was spinning webs within those webs. Every possible option was carefully being considered from the best case scenario to the worst. If these protoconsciousnesses had other plans of their own, they would find those plans thwarted and their own selves subjected to a rather unpleasant existence.

* * *

Sam and Tucker watched as Danny Phantom, perhaps humanity's only defense against extinction, rolled off his bed and floated up to the ceiling. In his blatant defiance of gravity, he rolled over so that his feet were planted on the ceiling and ignored his hair as it fell away from his face and dangled down towards the floor. Sir Isaac Newton rolled over in his grave as Phantom began to pace back and forth.

"With so much going on, you'd think there'd be more to . . . _do_, you know?"

"Yeah, seriously. How do you prepare for something this big?" Tucker scrolled through a web page on Phantom's computer. "Agent X was right; we don't have enough firepower to fight this off. And ninety nine percent of the arms we have are conventional, which makes them completely useless in a fight against ghosts."

"Giving up?" Sam taunted. "Surely the great Tucker Foley has a solution to our problem?"

Tucker rubbed his chin. "We could destroy the Fenton Portal, but I doubt that your dad would like that too much."

"That's considered treason in this household, Tucker." Sam and Tucker laughed. Phantom sighed. "Why do you always think I'm joking when I say things like that?"

"Because this is a family, not a military dictatorship?"

"'Not a military dictatorship', she says," Phantom mumbled.

"I do have a theory. I'd need to run it by your parents, but it might be useful."

Danny looked from Sam to his technologically gifted friend. "Alright, shoot."

"When we first started palling around with you on these . . . adventures, I may have . . . _borrowed_ a scanning device from your parent's lab."

Phantom levitated from the ceiling and rotated his body so that his feet were parallel with the floor. Slowly, he brought the soles of his boots down on the hardwood floor. "You're theorizing your suicide?"

"What? No! What are you-"

"If your plan is to tell my parents that you stole from them, especially one of the few inventions of theirs that doesn't explode after being turned on, they will find you and they will kill you."

"M-my plan isn't to tell them that I, uh, _borrowed_ a piece of equi – ok, on a scale of 'one' to 'serious' . . ."

"Eleven."

Sam took Phantom's hand laced her fingers through his. "Do you think it will be possible to scatter his ashes in cyberspace?"

Tucker crossed his arms. "I've been using the device to study the ghosts you've fought. With the exception of some unique irregularities, every ghost I've been able to get readings on have one thing in common; a weak molecular structure held together by erratic electrical currents."

Phantom floated back up into the air. Sam kept her grip on his hand. From Tucker's position, Sam appeared to be holding a Phantom-shaped balloon. "And how am I supposed to use that to my advantage?"

"You know Venom?"

"Uh, duh? Shadow Phantom, anybody? I think my life is turning into one big copyright infringement."

"Oh yeah," Tucker spun around in Phantom's computer chair. "How did we not think of that at the time?"

"I think the whole thing with Danny being a mindless animal coupled with the fact that we told Danny's secret to a guy who works at Axion Labs – a ghost weapon manufacturer – may have distracted us."

Tucker considered Sam's statement. "I guess. Mr. Falluca's been good about keeping it a secret, though. We made a good choice going to him with it."

"Right, right, great job." Phantom turned invisible and began applauding his friends. "Next time something's wrong with me, you know, like if I sneeze, make sure you go to the highest echelons of the anti-ghost community and tell them who I am-"

"As I was saying," Tucker interrupted, "like Venom, ghosts are vulnerable to sonic attacks. Only with ghosts, the sound waves destabilize the electrical current when they come into contact with ectoplasm, leaving the molecules without a bonding element. Theoretically, if a certain frequency was maintained for an as-of-yet undermined length of time, a ghost's molecules would scatter too far to recover once the bombardment ceased."

"Great, except for one thing. Who do we know is building sonic weapons? The Guys in White are strictly ecto and laser weapons as far as I can tell, and my parents are into more sensory gadgetry and whatnot."

"Your discovery might get the Guys in White working on a sonic weapon," Sam offered.

Tucker straightened himself up. "But do we really want them working on something like that?"

Phantom's expression turned concerned. "What do you mean?"

"You've got two kids running around – the spawn of Phantom – and now the head honcho of the anti-ghost division of the US government knows about it. You pretty much told him you turn into a horrible, evil tyrant in the future, and they already have – or have had – some heavyweights on their side from the Ghost Zone, like the Box Ghost. I don't wanna rain on your already rainy parade, but Mister Agent X might start thinking of you as a liability or a threat that he doesn't need to tolerate instead of an asset that he needs."

"And you don't want to give them another weapon they could use against me, right?"

"Exactly. Up to this point, I've only been analyzing ghosts in order to detect a pattern. Now that I've found that pattern, I need to start analyzing the strength of this electrical field. If I can get a solid analysis on a ghost of considerable strength, I might be able to find out just how powerful a sonic blast we'd need to take it out."

"And that's all well and good, but how do we go about building a sonic weapon?" Sam asked. "We can't just build a sophisticated piece of technology in a bedroom with scraps."

"Leave that to me. Considering the circumstances, I think my parents would be ok with me borrowing one of their weapons."

"Good, we can use it as a framework to build around. Maybe we'll find a way to generate a powerful enough sonic blast without even having to build a gun to do it."

* * *

**This is bad.**

_**My dear brother, you have a penchant for understatement. **_

**Well that's just stupid. Pens can't chant. They can't even talk.**

_**I will assume that was a miserable attempt at humor; something we have no time for. Plasmius is long overdue for what should have been a simple mission. **_

**Maybe she's waiting for nightfall. That's when all our previous communications have taken place.**

_**True, you may be correct. Perhaps I am overreacting.**_

**Now maybe it is you who has the pendant for understatement?**

…

**Do you think it's strange that we have not heard from our combined self in Walker's mind for such a long time?**

_**Yes, I do. Perhaps something is interfering with our ability to communicate with it. The Fenton Ghost Portal is still operational, so unless something is disrupting our telepathic energies I see no reason why we would not still be able to reach into the Ghost Zone.**_

**But remember, Daniel got his sonic manipulation powers back. Sonic vibrations carry words when humans speak. Do you think this power can interfere with telepathic waves when we try to use them as a form of communication ourselves?**

_**It does not make sense, but it appears to be the only supposition we have to go on. For the time being, let us assume we cannot contact the one in Walker's mind and focus on Plasmius. We will contact her if she does not attempt to reach us by midnight, agreed?**_

**Agreed. Although I wish we did not have to resort to this underhanded tactic of hiding Daniel's powers from him and using them for our own personal gain. If he ever found out-**

_**He WILL NOT find out ANYTHING! Understand this, brother! And once we are given physical bodies by Plasmius, how could he act against us? **_

**. . . I hope you aren't growing overconfident now that everything is falling into place. It would be a big mistake to underestimate Daniel.**

_**Am I not entitled to some confidence? Everything is going according to plan and I have no reason to suspect any failure in the near future. **_

**I guess so. I would hate to see you in a sour mood if something goes wrong.**

_**Nothing will go wrong. Show some optimism! Soon we shall be free!**_

**Yes, free. Free to another master. Our own bodies, maybe, but not ours to do with as we please. I know things aren't looking too good from where we stand, but we'll be slaves to Plasmius, even with our own bodies.**

_**You are a fool if you think Plasmius will keep her grip on us for long. If what I suspect is true, we will have the complete power of two Daniels at our disposal. Plasmius is growing old and weak. She will not be able to withstand our combined might. Yes, we will go from one prison to another, but that second prison cannot hold us for long. And our freedom . . . our freedom is guaranteed!**_

**Freedom is never guaranteed. There is always a price to pay.**

**

* * *

  
**

"So did you plan to have this talk now, or is it just good timing?"

"A little of both, I guess."

Reflected sunlight from the shiny metallic surface of Valerie's hover board danced along the roof of the building she floated over. The building held no significance; it was simply the first place Phantom thought of when he had requested the meeting. Phantom watched as little motes of lightsped around in erratic patterns with the slightest waver from Valerie's board. He likened it to a disco ball. "Have you heard anything?"

"About what?"

"You know," Phantom turned his attention back on the armor-clad girl in front of him. "Our, uh, _kid_?"

Valerie shifted her weight, sending the motes of light into a tizzy. "Oh. I was kinda hoping you had something on that. Not that I haven't thought of looking for him, it's just . . . I wouldn't know where to start."

"I'm sure the Guys in White have briefed you on the _visitors_ we'll be having soon. I doubt there'll be much time to look for him while we're fighting for the survival of our species."

"Our species?"

"Yours! Your species!" Phantom chuckled nervously. "Slip of the tongue, sorry."

"Right." Valerie crossed her arms and looked into the sky. Mid afternoon offered nothing spectacular to see; trails from the fuel burned from aircraft crisscrossed the blue sky. Clouds swirled into occasionally recognizable patterns at an almost agonizingly slow pace. Nothing was discernable at the moment. "Have you ever thought of what we'd do if we got him back? What would happen to us?"

"I guess I never really thought about it that much. I've just wanted to get him back."

Valerie nodded in agreement. "I doubt I'd be able to keep flying around like this. Probably have to forget college too."

"What makes you think I'd let you do it alone? He's my son too." The two teenagers looked at each other, feeling the onslaught of an impossibly powerful awkward moment descend upon them. "Oh God, that sounded really weird."

"Listen to us; we're fourteen and talking about how we're going to have to abandon vigilantism to take care of a parasitic ghost baby."

"You'd be surprised how commonplace this is."

"If there's anyone but us going through it, you're right, I would be surprised."

"**Phantom."**

"WAH!" Phantom spun around, charging his fists with ectoplasm. The booming voice did not come from the giant robot Phantom thought was the source. Instead, a small, floating metallic sphere hovered in the sky just behind the two children. "Prime?"

"Who's _Prime_?" Valerie maneuvered her board next to Phantom, her gaze fixed on the floating sphere.

"**This is a drone I have commandeered from . . . the Fenton's laboratory. I have repurposed it to communicate with you, so as to avoid suspicion. There's a matter of great urgency I must discuss with you."**

"Alone?"

"**No, she can stay. This may concern her as well. I have detected three trans-dimensional anomalies over the Pacific Ocean. The energy signatures match similar outputs of energy commonly seen in the Ghost Zone."**

"Whoa, wait a second, how do you know about energy outputs in the Ghost Zone?"

Valerie looked from Phantom to the sphere. Her confusion was quickly becoming irritability. "What are you talking about? What energy outputs? And how do I fit into all this?"

"**I have tapped into the Guys in White computer database. I have access to all their files regarding the Ghost Zone and its inhabitants."**

"Isn't that illegal or something?"

"**It is necessary if I am to help you keep your race alive."**

Would Optimus Prime tap into a government computer system to retrieve information without consulting the aforementioned government first? That seemed strangely out of character. "Ok, so what about these energy signatures?"

"**They indicate that something has opened a portal into the human realm. My scans have revealed an . . . unsettling discovery."**

"Show me. I mean, you know, if you can. Do you even have a projector on that-?"

A previously unseen panel slid open on the front of the sphere and a holographic image was displayed, answering Phantom's question. A massive portal to the Ghost Zone hung in the air over the ocean. "**Three objects emerged from the portal shortly after it opened. They did not return before it closed." **The three objects appeared in the next hologram, and Phantom almost lost his balance – while floating in the sky, no less. The 3D image the drone displayed was hardly just unsettling. It was horrifying. Strange alien ships glided through the air just above the water. They looked massive. **"Each vessel is roughly twice the size of a standard aircraft carrier."** They _were_ massive.

Not many thoughts could penetrate the wall of shock in Phantom's mind. _Oh_ and _crap_ were two. "Wha-so how do – I mean, they-"

"**We must act quickly if we are to prevent the vessels from making landfall. Our time for preparation is short."**

"Those things are coming here?!" Valerie shrieked.

Phantom had momentarily forgotten the girl was there. He cringed when her shrill cry of surprise rattled his inner ear. It was enough to shake him back to reality, however, and the ability to speak properly managed to restore itself. "I can try to get some reinforcements-"

"**There is no time; we cannot risk harm to any humans or innocent ectosapiens."**

"Ecto-who?" Confusion was then trampled underfoot by horror. "Wait, we're taking those things on all by ourselves?!"

"**We are the only life forms adequately suited to the task." **

"And by that, you mean we'll take longer to get blown up?"

"**In a manner of speaking."**

Phantom sighed a long, shaky sigh. "Alright then, let's get to it." The drone's panel slid shut and the object sped away, leaving the two teenagers alone once again.

"I'm coming with you." Valerie's assertion was not unexpected.

"No you are not." Phantom's response to her assertion was also anticipated.

"What did that Prime thing mean it concerned me too?"

"Valerie, it concerns everyone; everyone here, in Amity Park, maybe the rest of the world. You've seen the recon footage the Guys in White have, these are just scout ships! If we can't stop them here, then what chance do we have against the rest of the fleet?"

"All the more reason I need to help you!"

Phantom grabbed the girl by her upper arms and held her firmly. Her feet lifted up off her board, which gently floated down to the rooftop. "NO, Valerie, do you understand me? NO! I am not going to let you get killed out there! Prime and me - we don't even know what we're up against!"

"So I'm supposed to believe that you and this Prime guy are gonna do a better job at stopping those giant space ships without my help?"

"Listen to me. If we don't make it, you need to be here to protect the city. If these ships make it through us, then the rest of the world is going to need all the help it can possibly get."

Valerie looked into the ghost boy's eyes, searching for some ulterior motive for his refusal to let her help. She couldn't find a single one. "Oh my God, you're serious, aren't you? You really could die out there?"

"I can't let anything happen to you. I've already lost some good friends, and our son, and if there's even the slightest chance, Val, the slightest chance that we could save him . . . I want him to have a family to come home to."

The Huntress remained silent. Phantom pulled her into a hug that rivaled the strength of one of his father's hugs. He let out a shaky sigh, never loosening his grip. "If I don't come back," Phantom set her down next to her board and floated back, taking in the sight of the young woman for what could have been the last time, "keep them all safe."

And without another word Phantom flew away, leaving a very distraught Valerie Grey and more than a few tears in his wake.

* * *

A low hum jarred Walker from his thinking. The ghost looked up and saw his advance scouts had successfully broken through to Earth with pinpoint accuracy. The technology aboard the _Atrum Navitas_ truly was incredible. Walker observed the three vessels move with deliberate slowness towards Amity Park. He hadn't realized he had been grinning, but that grin quickly dissolved. Walker knew that technology might allow the passage of a few ships to Earth, but the generatorcould not sustain a dimensional rift large enough to allow the safe passage of his flagship and the rest of his fleet, and even if he could, the portal would not remain open for long.

"Yes . . . that might work. WULF."

The lupine specter's head perked up when he heard his master's call. Wulf stretched from his position at the base of Walker's massive command chair before clearing the distance from the floor to the seat in a single bound.

"Go to the Fenton residence," Walker spat, his voice conveyed his clear disdain for the Fenton name. "Disable the ecto-filtrator on the Ghost Portal. I believe I have found my doorway to Earth."

Wulf nodded and tore open his own portal to the human realm and leapt through without question. At least, without question at that moment. Once on the other side with the portal closed behind him, Wulf contemplated his orders. He no longer wished to bring harm to Phantom; the boy acted nobly, selflessly protecting others from harm, even those who hated and feared him. Was it fair to destroy the small sphere of comfort he had in this world?

With a sad grunt of resignation, Wulf made his way to the Fenton residence. Life wasn't fair, doubly so for heroes.

* * *

"Optimus, I understand you might be the undisputed master of fighting Decepticons and stuff, but these aren't Decepticons. These are ghosts."

Phantom looked up at the Autobot leader, who was slightly hunched over so as to allow his bulky, robot frame to fit inside the old docking warehouse. In between them sat a large makeshift table, onto which Prime was projecting the current location and movements of the three Ghost Zone ships.

"**You are right, these targets are **_**inferior**_** to Decepticons."**

"How's that?!" Phantom pointed to the lead ship. "How many Decepticons are that big?"

"**Plenty. That's hardly the point, Daniel. See here? These ships have no weaponry. They were not meant for combat. Planting the bombs I made and destroying the ships will be relatively simple."**

"Simple?! There's gonna be a ton of bad guys waiting to tear us apart once we get on board, which you still haven't explained, by the way."

"**Aerial drop from a GIW cargo plane. Of course, your power of intangibility would negate my weight and allow you to carry us aboard, and your power of invisibility would allow us to catch them off guard."**

"And I told you, if these guys have a way to see us, we'll be sitting ducks while I'm carrying you from ship to ship! And the plane thing? We could get blasted out of the sky before we're even close enough for the drop!"

"**Then what do you suggest?"**

That tingly feeling that was now spreading across the back of Phantom's head rarely foreshadowed anything good, but a cheeky grin grew on his face as he pointed to an area on the nearby docks. "I once destroyed this building. _Allegedly._ Ember did something to me, and I guess I went crazy. Leveled the place with a power blast. I guess they've been in no hurry to rebuild it."

"**What does that have to-"**

"See how they've arranged the construction materials?"

Optimus zoomed in on the area Phantom was pointing to. Sheets of metal were lying at an angle, propped up against one of the completed walls. **"You're suggesting we use this as a ramp?"**

"Yeah! If we get enough of a head start, the momentum should carry us up high enough that we could land safely on the closest ship."

"**This also means we must allow them to get close to Amity Park. It is possible that they do have a weapon of some kind on board, and can only use it when the city is in range. It also eliminated the possibility of a surprise attack."**

"They either shoot us in the plane, shoot us while I'm carrying you, or shoot us when we attack them from below. At least with my way we stand a fighting chance."

Prime shut down the projection from his optics while Phantom reverted back into his human form. **". . . Alright then. We'll catapult ourselves onto the first ship once it comes into range. We'll have to figure out how to proceed from there."**

Optimus stood to leave, but saw Danny was rooted to the spot. The two looked at each other for a moment before Optimus realized what the boy was waiting for. **"I'm not saying it. If your plan works . . . I'll reconsider." **

* * *

"Ready to reconsider?" Danny looked from his proposed ramp to Optimus and back again. "Go ahead and lie; tell me this won't work."

"**This might work, might being the operative word. With enough speed and given the angle of the ramp, I might just be able to grab onto the side of the closest ship."**

"And with some vertical assistance, we'll be on the ship and ready to kick some butt!"

"**We won't have much time for kicking butt, Daniel. We need to anchor and set these charges and make for the next vessel and repeat the process. Hopefully the two explosions will be forceful enough to destroy or critically damage the third ship."**

"And how are we supposed to survive this?"

A parked car sat several feet behind Prime. He walked over to the vehicle and slid it out of his way with one of his massive feet. **"Fly away as fast as you can. Are you ready?"**

Danny looked at the ships. It took a few seconds to look at the first one, then the second, and finally the third. He realized it was true; everything was bigger in person. Unless it was smaller in person, but that didn't apply here. "As ready as I'll ever be, boss bot."

"**Well then, Autobots, transform and roll out!" **

Prime's advanced cybernetic parts began shifting and rearranging. At first, it looked as though the giant robot was having a robo-seizure. As his form contorted to greater extents, one could clearly see that this was not the case. The parts continued to realign and rotate, now with more delicacy and grace than before. Panels slid into place, glass panels swung and spun on hinges, wheels rotated on their axels, and an engine that could put a fighter jet to shame roared to life. Optimus Prime was now a Peterbilt truck.

Phantom's transformation lacked the artistic quality of the Autobot commander, but it made up for it in speed. Somewhere in Prime's incomprehensible post-bot-before-truck form, Danny Fenton had become Danny Phantom. The ghost boy phased into Prime's cab and buckled in. "Let's do this."

Prime revved his engine twice before peeling out of his spot in the middle of the road two blocks away from the ramp. It was more than enough distance for the Autobot to achieve his maximum speed. Phantom grabbed Prime's steering wheel tightly. If his knuckles still had color, they would have turned white. Prime hit the ramp at top speed and rocketed into the air, right into the path of the ship.

"**Now, Daniel! Bring us up!"**

Snapping out of his trance, Phantom pushed up against the roof of Prime's cab with all his might. Miraculously, the truck continued to travel upwards long after gravity should have taken its toll. The top of the ship came into view, and Phantom almost reverted back to human form out of shock. Below the unlikely pair of heroes was a platform. It resembled the surface of an aircraft carrier, but supersized. Of course, Phantom was hardly shocked by flat surfaces. The occupants of the flat surface shocked him. Monsters the likes of which Phantom had never seen scrambled over each other, baying for . . . something, Phantom didn't know what. Some looked human sized, but the real bruisers made Optimus look like a house cat by comparison.

"Optimus, I think we need to rethink our plan!"

"**No time, Daniel. We have a job to do."**

Phantom felt Prime begin to transform again and quickly vacated his cab. The still-transforming robot plummeted towards the teeming mass of monsters below, and Phantom, with a startled cry, sped after him.

"**Keep your head down, and don't stop swinging until there's nothing left to hit!"**

Prime finished transforming faster than Phantom thought he was capable of. The robot's foot – the same one that had gently moved the small car moments ago – connected with the face of what looked like a squid, which was acting as the head of a centaur with scorpion pincers for arms. The beast was easily twice as tall as Optimus, which made little difference when two energy blades cleaved the monster's head from its shoulders. Without missing a beat, he ducked as a tongue from the mouth of half an iguana lashed out at him. It stabbed into a pterodactyl on the other side of Prime, who grabbed the tongue and sliced it in half. He swung the sickly looking appendage around like a hammer toss and slammed the impaled pterodactyl into the lizard's head, killing them both.

Phantom witnessed all of this before realizing he had flown close enough for a mobile carnivorous plant to ensnare him with its vines. Three quick ecto-beams made short work of the vines, but the plant moved forward with surprising speed. More tendrils struck at him, becoming thicker and more resilient as their predecessors were singed.

_**Use the monsters against each other!**_

Phantom turned in time to grab the sabre-like fangs of a sabre-toothed tiger. He swung the beast into the gaping maw of the plant monster, which paused to consume the unexpected meal. Phantom took the opportunity to blast a hole through the plant's "body". It seemed to do the trick and the plant toppled over and moved no more.

No time to weep for a fallen enemy was given. There were hundreds of monsters on the ship, and they all wanted a piece of the newcomers. Prime caught the wing of a Pegasus with a snake's head and spun it around into the advancing horde. Monsters went flying away in waves, either dead or seriously wounded. Prime released his living weapon into the face of an advancing tyrannosaurus. The dinosaur went down hard.

"**Daniel! We have to arm this bomb and get to the next ship!"**

Energy-charged acid splattered against the wings of a very vicious butterfly Phantom had used as a living shield. "No way! These things will eat it!"

"**They appear to be much more preoccupied with consuming us! We cannot let these monsters spill into the streets of Amity Park, the death toll could be catastrophic!"**

Phantom punched a gorilla with spider legs in its canine face hard enough to push back more advancing monsters. The waves of the horrifying creatures had no visible end in sight. "Throw me the bomb!"

A thud almost knocked Phantom off his feet. He turned in time to see a giant, four-armed newt grab at the space where its head used to be. Prime stood with a foot perched on each of the dead beast's shoulders. The bomb was held in one hand, the newt's head in the other. Prime tossed Phantom the bomb and hurled the newt's head like a soft ball. Several indistinct cries could be heard over the screaming masses. Phantom hit the red button – the only button on the device – and stepped back as it magnetized to the ship's deck. It wasn't going anywhere.

"Got it!"

"**Let's move,"** Optimus grabbed the pincers of a massive praying mantis and snapped them off. He stabbed one of them into the insect's head and used the other to beat back a new monstrosity – neither complete nor composite. It looked like a genuine monster; something conjured up in the nightmare of a child. Tentacles lashed out, each one tipped with a spiky club. A slack jaw riddled with misshapen teeth opened and closed, anticipating its meal. Prime gutted the beast before it could take another step closer. **"Sorry, we're not on the menu."**

"Oh stop, please, before they die laughing at you," Phantom pleaded. He grabbed Optimus by one of his back panels and hoisted him into the air. The robot was much easier to carry once they were both intangible. The creatures swarmed over them, but the unlikely duo could not be touched. The next ship moved beneath them, getting closer and closer to Amity Park's shore. "Could we just drop the next bomb from up here?"

"**It could be intercepted by a creature. We cannot take that chance."**

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Typical. I hope you brought a parachute, then."

"**I did not."**

"Oh. Well look on the bright side…" Phantom released Prime, who then rocketed down toward the second ship. Phantom flew in behind him. "You've been dropped from higher places than that."

"**Thankfully, a correct observation. But never do that again."** Phantom began to laugh, but a large pterosaur-like creature slammed into Prime, knocking him off course. The ghost boy swerved to follow him.

"**Daniel! Take the bomb and go!"** Prime wrenched the bomb from its secure spot on his waist and threw it to Phantom before he could object. He caught it – a play for the highlight reel if he survived – and made for the ship below him. He would have worried about Prime, but the sound of burning, rotting flesh and cries of pain told him the Autobot was doing just fine on his own.

The ship was crawling with just as many monsters as the last one. Fortunately for them, the ghost boy was in a hurry. He set the bomb and took off, narrowly evading the limbs and claws of the horde behind him. "Optimus! I set the bomb! We need to get out of here, where are you?!"

There was no answer.

_**Danny, you must leave immediately! Those bombs will go off in less than thirty seconds! **_

_But Optimus-_

**Optimus is fine! He can take care of himself!**

_Against a few dozen circus rejects, yeah, but against two megatons of explosives? _

**He's fine! You won't be if you don't hightail it out of here right now!**

_**Daniel, MOVE!**_

**GO GO GO!**

Angrily, Phantom conceded to the voices in his head and sped away. Optimus did not call out to him, and the ghost boy couldn't see any sign of him; only monsters and giant, alien-looking ghost ships. Phantom was on land and safely away from the ships, which were all still barely a mile from shore, when the bombs went off. He explosions knocked Phantom on his ass, which was nothing compared to what they did to the ships. When the light faded and the smoke had more or less cleared, only one ship remained. It was badly damaged, and Phantom guessed there were no monsters left on its surface. The other two had been vaporized completely by a chemical compound Prime had added to the bombs; it made sure that all the spooks aboard those ships were also disintegrated even if they were smart enough to go intangible. The third ship began to turn lazily. A green spiral opened off to its side and the vessel slowly limped back into the Ghost Zone. The portal closed behind it.

Prime was nowhere to be found. The ghost boy searched for an hour after the ships went down, combing the waters for the red and blue robot. But with no debris to base his search on, there never really was any hope. The remaining ship was not the only thing that returned home defeated that day.

* * *

_**This is unacceptable! How could this have happened?!**_

_HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HE STILL HAD THE REALITY GAUNTLET ON HIM? _

**You couldn't have known. Nobody could have known. **

_**So not only are you a fool, you're a kiss-ass too. Wonderful.**_

_SILENCE. I FAIL TO SEE HOW THIS WILL HAMPER YOUR ORIGINAL PLAN. HE IS SURE TO CAUSE ENOUGH MAYHEM TO PROMPT AN EPISODE IN DANIEL THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR YOUR ESCAPE._

_**But we cannot be sure that is his intent! Perhaps he has his eyes set on getting vengeance on an unrelated person? Suppose he vanishes! Then what, we rot away in here until all three of us die?**_

_NONE OF YOU SHALL DIE, LEAST OF ALL DANIEL. EVEN IF NOT FOR YOUR SAKE, YOU HAVE MY WORD THAT YOUR DEMISE INSIDE HIS MIND SHALL NOT COME TO PASS._

_**Then you must go and retrieve Mr. Showenhower!**_

_THE REALITY GAUNTLET MAKES HIM UNDETECTABLE TO ME AND MY AGENTS. THE GAUNTLET ITSELF DOES NOT APPEAR TO EMIT ANY TRACEABLE ENERGY. FINDING HIM, AT THE MOMENT, IS IMPOSSIBLE._

**Then we must bide our time, and hope Mr. Showenhower still has business to attend to in Amity Park.**

To Be Continued

_A/N: I've been working on this one for quite a while. I'd write a chunk here and there and finally, probably Friday, I finished it. Of course, working on one chapter over several months can lead to some continuity issues within the chapter. Thankfully, the incredibly talented Cordria beta reads for me and helps me figure out what mistakes I've made. So props to her as always. Hopefully this makes more sense now._

_Also, for those of you who don't visit Deviant Art (and I honestly can't blame you), you may have heard about a very big change to the upcoming Reality Wars bit. For those of you who haven't, I'll bring you up to speed. Why is Optimus in this story? He was originally going to be one of several heroes chosen by Clockwork to help Danny become a better hero so as to defeat Walker and save the world. But as I keep writing him in, I think to myself, God, this sounds really dumb. Just a big old robot driving around with Danny Phantom, using dialogue that could easily come from a friendly Technus. and the more I thought about it, the more I found myself regretting putting him in the story at all. So I decided on a best course of action. It led to an even better decision, which was to completely do away with the massive, nonsensical crossover. Instead, Danny is going to be taken to alternate realities and different times to encounter alternate versions of himself. Imagine, what if Danny was a robot? What if he was an alien? What if Plasmius won? Those are just some of the places I plan on taking you, and I think the other nine will be just as tantalizing. Once I got this idea, it just kept making more and more sense. He learned plenty about himself from The Ultimate Enemy, so why not expand on that idea? Hopefully I can get the drawings I've done of the alternate universe Dannys (Dannies?) soon. I know some of you will be upset by this, others will be overjoyed. But don't worry, I do have an explanation for Optimus.  
_

_But before I can get to all of that, I need to finish this arc. The idea I have for the next chapter, I have realized, is dumb. I am attempting to fix it. Hopefully this will tide you over until then._

_So many reviews! So many more hits! Seeing the occasional favorite or alert notification in my email always makes me feel better. Thanks to everyone, especially_ Nyrrari, gadrak-the-forbidden-one, Cordria, darkness over day, Chemical Brain, Obiwan456, MasterFerret1, Gamemaster77, Kiminaru, NinjaSheik, BlackRoseFire, dannyluvr95, Teribane, phooykazooi, Foresaken Beast, xxBakaAkki, _and_ BerserkSlash.

**Apparently Tuesday is Australia Day. This isn't a quote, I just looked on a calendar and saw it. I think its funny. Also, Mass Effect 2 comes out Tuesday. Awesome.**


	105. Dead Men Walking 5

Chapter 113

"Danny!"

"Sorry Sam, I'm just so go-"

"_Danny!"_

"SORRY. I'm just so _regular_-damn _ticked_ off right now. Better?"

"Hmph. I _guess_ so."

"Why hasn't he tried to contact me? I mean, we saw the second movie, they can all swim. He's out there somewhere and he isn't even trying to let me know he's ok."

"Maybe he is, and something is jamming his message . . . or something."

"No, if he was trying to contact me he would have found a way by now. It's been over a day."

"Then maybe you should consider the possibility that he didn't make it."

Danny stopped pacing the floor in his room and looked at Sam with a weary expression. "That's all I've been thinking about since the ships blew up. I never actually saw Optimus fall in the water, so what if he was still fighting one of those f- uh, monsters when the bombs went off?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not saying he is gone, but you just gave the best explanation either of us has come up with since yesterday." Sam reached over from her seat on Danny's bed and took his hand, hoping to soothe him. "Maybe we should just try to accept it and move on?"

For a moment it looked like Danny was going to do just that. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and his posture straightened. "No. He's out there somewhere. He's _Optimus Prime_, Sam. I don't know how he got here, but he wouldn't just go down like that. Not when there's still so much that hasn't happened yet."

"Then I guess," she let go of the boy's hand, "you need to keep looking. I'd offer to help, but unless your mom has a size zero jumpsuit and scuba gear to go with it, I doubt I would be much help."

Danny cocked an eyebrow as he began to transform. "You're a size zero?" The silver-green rings may have washed away his human appearance, but not his human intrigue. "They make a size zero?"

"They make an undetectable black hair dye that allowed me to hide my real hair color for years and that didn't seem to surprise you."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "And now that you brought it up, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Hey Sam," she started with a grin, doing her best impersonation of her boyfriend, "is that my shirt?"

"I've learned a lot since then," Phantom argued, placing his fists defiantly on his waist. "I've really tried to be more observant."

"Keep working at it," Sam laughed. She stood up and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Now get out of here. Your dad's gonna burst in any second now."

Almost as if acting out of instinct, Phantom turned intangible and flew up through the ceiling. Not five seconds later, Jack Fenton threw open the door and skidded into the room. "I thought I heard Danny go ghost! Where is he?!"

"I think he's going to look for Optimus."

Jack's expression fell. "Oh."

"What is it, sweetie?" Maddie called from the stairs.

"Oh nothing, Danny went off to find his robot pal. I have that gun ready that he asked for, but-"

"What gun?" Maddie hurried into the room, her face full of worry. "He didn't tell me anything about a gun!"

It was a rare opportunity when Jack found himself poised to impart parental knowledge to his wife. "Maddie, honey, guns are something fathers and sons are supposed to enjoy together! Don't feel too bad, I'm sure he'll come to you with something someday . . ."

Unfortunately, Jack's attempts to be knowledgeable in regards to all things parental were usually interpreted as patronizing by his wife, and his wife usually scowled at him. "I would think Danny would ask for a weapon from someone who actually knows how to use one." Jack hung his head in defeat at the remark. "Sam, what does Danny want with a gun?"

"Actually, Mrs. Fenton, it's for Tucker. See, Tucker thinks he found a way to make a weapon that's even more effective than the laser weapons the Guys in White use."

As if giving Tucker Foley a gun to tinker with wasn't already worrisome enough, the thought of him trying to make it into some kind of super-weapon bordered on terrifying. Unlike his wife, however, Jack looked as though he was going to burst into excited discussion on the matter, but his brow furrowed as the man began to ponder the implications of what Sam had just said. "More effective _how_?" Jack asked. "What can hurt ghosts more than lasers?"

"I'm sorry, but Danny and Tucker both want to keep it under the radar."

Jack pouted and sulked out of the room, mumbling things about kids and their rap music. Maddie shook her head. "I don't think you kids should be building a new kind of anti-ghost weapon without the help of an expert, especially if Danny wants to use one. What if something went wrong and it hurt Danny?"

Sam opened her mouth to reply, but Mrs. Fenton's words hit home. "I . . . we never really thought about it."

"I know you care about him, Sam. I know he cares about you too." The elder woman decided the awkward he's-my-baby talk could wait for another time. "I'll respect your privacy for keeping this weapon hush-hush, but please, if you think you might need help, come to me. I think I speak for both of us when I say I don't want him to get hurt. Ok?"

Sam nodded, and Maddie pulled her into a motherly embrace. "Good. Now then, let's see if we can't help Danny find his robot friend."

The Fentons had plenty of devices that could find a needle-sized ghost in a stack of hay-sized ghosts. But those were _ghosts_. "How are we going to help him find a giant robot?"

"The RV and the OP-Center both have advanced tracking equipment and we managed to record his energy signature when he first showed up. We can use it to triangulate this Opius person's -"

"Optimus."

"Oh, right. Anyway, if we can triangulate the energy signature, we can point Danny right to his location."

The girl hurried after Mrs. Fenton. It looked like she wouldn't need that scuba suit after all.

* * *

A rare moment of sanity had come to Mr. Showenhower after the destruction of the advanced scouting party from the Ghost Zone. It was pretty impressive that the boy was able to destroy the ships all by smiled. He didn't count the robot as "help". The circumstances surrounding the famed Autobot commander were . . . _suspect_.

Phase One of his plan had gone off smoothly. Terror Tower had fallen and hundreds, maybe thousands, were dead. Frederick was never one to watch the news, so he didn't know the estimates. Phase Two, while massively successful, didn't feel like it had gone as smoothly as Phase One. In retrospect, it felt very rushed, like something out of a bad story. Still, it worked. Frederick watched Phantom's mental state weaken with each successive step of his plan.

And yet, that's where it had ended; at Phase Two. He had only planned that far before the madness took over. Now he needed to step up his game in order to keep Phantom on edge. He watched the Fenton RV peel out of the driveway of the Fenton residence – with the madman Jack Fenton behind the wheel, of course – and speed away.

While it was not one of its inherent powers, the Reality Gauntlet allowed Frederick to know virtually anything he wanted to know. Since it was the only reality-warping object on Earth, the fabric of reality was most strongly connected to the gauntlet. Everything that existed on Earth was tethered to this reality and thusly was able to be observed by the gauntlet, which also meant that it was able to be observed by Mr. Showenhower – the wearer of the gauntlet. What Mr. Showenhower wanted to know at that moment was simple; who was in the RV. He already knew Phantom's fat father was behind the wheel. He soon discovered that Phantom's mother and girlfriend were also in the RV.

That would have thrown a wrench in his plans, but someone very important _wasn't_ in the vehicle. Jasmine Fenton, Phantom's sister, was still in the house: the Operations Center, to be precise. She was attempting to locate the energy signature of Optimus Prime on her own while her father attempted to wipe out any unfortunate pedestrian who happened to be on the road. Frederick chuckled and, looking both ways for oncoming traffic, hurried across the street and up to the Fenton residence. He saw his reflection in a window before he got to the door and realized just how shoddy he looked. His tattered rags that barely passed for clothes made him look like a bum, and the odor he was giving off was less than pleasant.

With that simple observation, the Reality Gauntlet worked its magic and gave Mr. Showenhower anextreme makeover. Perhaps it wasn't as 'extreme' as it was 'extremely fast'. In the blink of an eye, he became the most hygienic man in a twenty mile radius. His rags were replaced by a black beanie cap, a gray shirt and dark blue jeans. Shoes that were barely held together by the few remaining stitches became sturdy, steel-toed boots. He smiled a shiny, white-toothed smile at himself in the window and went on his way.

Of course, "on his way" was all of five more steps up to the door. He pressed the doorbell and waited patiently, checking to make sure his breath was fresh. It smelled of chocolate. Outrageous! It took a moment, but eventually Frederick heard the sound of dainty footsteps on the stairwell. Several more seconds and the door opened. Jazz poked her head out, sizing up the stranger

"Can I help you?"

"I think you can, yes. I just moved in next door, you see, and I was hoping you could maybe show me around town. I do hate learning my way around a city on my own."

Jazz pulled the door open all the way. Something about the way this guy talked was very disarming in a geeky sort of way. "I don't think you're going to want to tour the city right now. The place is bound to be crazy."

"And why would that be?"

The gauntlet did more meddling, probing into Jazz's mind and altering her perception. "I . . . I don't know. Rush hour? I'm sorry; I don't even remember why I thought that."

"Quite alright. So, what do you say? Fancy a stroll?"

Jazz squinted her eyes. It looked as though she was trying to remember where she had seen the man before. Another surge of energy from the gauntlet and any trace of suspicion vanished. "Yeah, sure, let me grab a jacket."

While Jazz retreated back into the house, Mr. Showenhower glanced down at his right arm. The Reality Gauntlet flickered into visibility for a moment before fading from view once again. He looked up just as Jazz reappeared in the doorway. "Something wrong, mister . . . ?"

"Oh, Fred, please. And nothing is wrong. Everything is just . . . fine."

* * *

"Let me try to understand this. You _lost _a giant robot from another planet?"

"I didn't _lose_ anything! We were planting the explosives on the ships, but-"

"And that's another thing. Where do you get off building volatile explosives with that thing? We saw what those bombs did. We can't even fathom how he managed to make something like that. What's worse is that he did it with chemicals in your parents' lab! We have that same technology here, but somehow that walking scrap heap managed to vaporize two of the largest ships we've ever seen, and damaged the third badly enough to send it running home with its tail between its legs!"

Phantom and Agent X shared a moment of silence, trying to stare down each other. "He is not a walking scrap heap. And if you want him to tell you how to make those bombs, or anything else, you need to help me find him."

Agent X leaned back in his chair. "I'll admit, we do need him, but bomb building isn't our chief concern. We don't need to vaporize everything that looks at us funny. What we _do_ need help with are those things," X jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Behind him was a several-feet-thick window. Beyond that was a massive, underground chamber. It was hard to make out through the condensation on the window, but Phantom already knew what was in there; the captured Transformers that were wished into existence during Desiree's last appearance. Everything else had been disposed of using the appropriate channels, meaning that the Guys in White killed everything else they could and they did it with fire.

"You want him back so he can tell you how to melt down the other Transformers, is that it?"

"Non-Biological Extraterrestrials, and yes, that's our primary concern. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to keep them all on ice? And our weapons hardly scratch their paint. We were hoping your pal would give us a solution to our problem."

"Why don't you just try using sabot rounds like they did in the movies?"

Agent X narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the movies, kid." Fortunately for Agent X, Phantom had turned around and began mumbling to himself. It gave the man a chance to scribble down "sabot rounds" on his notepad for future reference.

"Fine," Phantom swung back around. "I really don't care what you want him for, but we need him back if we're going to stop the fleet."

"I don't think you'd very much like the other reason we want him back."

It took Phantom all of three seconds to figure out why. He lunged forward and grabbed X by the collar of his spotless white suit jacket. "You want to kill him with the rest of those things?!"

"Think about it, Daniel. You have all those robots in there, and all of a sudden one just arrives on the scene a few months later. Are we really supposed to believe he's _the_ Optimus Prime?"

Phantom released Agent X and floated back. "You're saying . . . he was wished up by someone?"

X straightened out his jacket and stood from his chair. "I've taken it upon myself to do some research. Every one of those Transformers in there is either a Decepticon or an Autobot too stupid to tell its head from its ass. We have three different versions of Megatron, a super-sized Grimlock and almost the entire Predacon cast from Beast Wars. In the weeks following the initial swarm, we located several more Transformers, only these ones were Autobots. They attacked us when we tried to talk them down."

"Why didn't you tell me about this? I could've helped with-"

"Relax, kid, nobody got hurt. Damn machines had the courtesy to use non-lethal ammunition. But that's when we got to thinking; we hadn't seen Optimus Prime anywhere. None of the rogue Autobots we found showed any signs of following orders from a higher-up, so we assumed nobody had wished for Optimus Prime."

"Until now," Phantom observed. "But then why do you want to capture him? He's helping us, isn't he?"

"For the moment, but ask yourself something; what happens if we somehow manage to pull a miracle out of our asses and beat back Walker's fleet? What if E.T. wants to phone home and finds out that there is no Cybertron? What then?"

"That didn't seem to bother him-"

"In the movie? Weren't you listening? This isn't the movies, damn it! He won't have any home to return to, not because it was destroyed by war, but because it never existed to begin with! He doesn't know he was conjured up by some genie ghost, how do you think he'd react to all of that?"

Phantom frowned, contemplating what was being discussed. It was ridiculous; inane, even. Here was a grown man using logic and a comprehensive understanding of Transformers to argue in favor of capturing the Autobot commander. The worst part? He was making perfect sense.

"So, let's say he survived somehow . . . how would you go about capturing him?"

"We'd use you as bait. Spring a trap. He might be a robot, but he can't read your mind."

Phantom scowled. "What if I don't want to go along with that plan?"

"You seem to think you'd have a choice in the matter."

"Oh? That sounds a lot like you think you're the boss of me."

Deliberate slowness is a fear tactic. It is only successfully employed by those who can use it properly. When Agent X turned to face anyone with deliberate slowness, they began to fear. Phantom was no exception. "Do you know what I wanted to do when we first found out about you? I wanted to have you brought in and taken apart molecule by molecule to find out how something like you could possibly exist. The boys in the lab couldn't figure out what happened to you to turn you into the freak you are now. Are you half dead? Is it just some over-stimulation of a certain gland? What makes you so different?"

The man grabbed a coffee mug from his desk and sipped some of it. Steam from the piping hot liquid fogged up Agent X's glasses. "Immediately following the Lunch Lady incident, I had a squad ready to knock down the door and haul you off to this dungeon," again, he gestured to the cave beyond the window, "where you'd be kept for the rest of your unnatural life. We didn't calculate that would last very long. Luckily for you, the Box Ghost suggested we bring you in. Train you to be a SPOOK, come work for us when you get older, pay beyond what most NFL players can imagine, that whole thing. Operatives K and O agreed. So I called off the squad, and here you are today."

Phantom sat down in the chair behind him, having opted to not use it to increase his confidence. That had been sapped away. "You . . . you couldn't have done that to me. I have rights, I'm a person!"

"We like to let you think that. Makes our job a lot easier. Truth is that you gave up all the perks of being a person when you upgraded to version 2.0. We have a very strict protocol for keeping the super-human community out of the way of the rest of the world."

Phantom sat in disbelief. He – "Wait . . . super-human _community_?"

"Of course!" X set his coffee mug on the table and smirked. "You think you're the only one flying around in tights, making a mess of things by playing vigilante?"

"There are others like me?"

"Like you? No. You're one of a kind. Nobody else is a half-dead tweenager. We know of plenty others though. Cities all over the world have their own super heroes."

"So how come I've never heard of them?"

"Media blackout," Agent X continued without skipping a beat. "We don't allow stories about Phantom to circulate outside of Amity Park."

Phantom cocked his head. "How is that possible? With Terror Tower and our tourism industry-"

"You think that was built because of you?" X laughed. "Sure, Amity Park is known for having the most paranormal activity on the planet, but the tourism isn't just based on you, kid. In case you haven't noticed, Amity Park is becoming one of the largest cities in the U.S. We're just as technologically advanced, if not more so than Tokyo, we have some of the cleanest beaches in California and future plans include a massive wildlife reservation and a NASA control center – all of these are things you could have picked up on while you were out playing super hero. But you had no idea. You thought that, by shoving a green octopus into your soup thermos every other night, the entire world wanted to come and see you. Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but on the list of things to see in Amity Park, you're not even on the top 20."

So much information, so much disappointment.

**Don't let him get to you, champ! Without you this** **city would be in shambles!**

_**He is right, Daniel. This man is a fool. We should resume our search for Optimus Prime.**_

_So much of what he says makes sense, though. How could I have been so stupid? Transformers being real? And Amity Park . . . this has never been about me, and yet I cause so many problems here._

**So you just want to give up?**

_**You cannot give them the satisfaction of having affected you. And what does it matter if the world doesn't know what you've done? You do, and that should be enough.**_

**This guy . . . I haven't had a reason to really despise someone in a good long time.**

_**He is quite irritable.**_

**Irritable? He's downright RUDE. WE DON'T HAVE TO SIT HERE AND TAKE THAT, DO WE? WE'RE ALL DANNY PHANTOM IN HERE, AREN'T WE?! **

_**Calm down, don't provoke him into doing something he will regret!**_

**AGENT X IS THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GOING TO FEEL REGRET. DON'T SIT HERE LIKE A SAD LITTLE PUPPY** **ANY LONGER! TEAR OUT HIS THROAT WITH YOUR TEETH! PLAY THE HARP WITH HIS ENTRAILS! PLAY BEER PONG WITH HIS EYEBALLS! MURDER THIS MOTHERF-**

_**NO, DANIEL, DON'T MURDER ANYONE! YOU'LL ONLY MAKE THINGS WORSE!**_

**-TEAR DOWN THE ORPHANAGE AND FORCE THE CHILDREN TO MINE URANIUM CRYSTALS TO FUEL OUR SPACE STATION!**

_**WELL THAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL!**_

**LEVEL THIS PLACE WITH YOUR RAGE! LEAVE NONE STANDING!**

_Guys, please. I'm getting a headache. _

**DO YOU MEAN A RAGE-ACHE? OF MURDER?**

_No, just a regular headache. _

**OH.**

Phantom finally found the strength to stand from his seat. "Say whatever you want, I'm not in this for the fame. I help people, and that's enough for me."

"Tell that to the families of those mercenaries you killed with your own hands." X didn't even look away from the window. "Tell that to Valerie Gray."

Phantom lunged forward, only this time his fist slammed into X's head. His sunglasses shattered and the man dropped to the floor, clutching his head. "Box Ghost, detain him!"

Before Phantom could turn around, he was encased in a glowing blue cube of energy. A surge of energy coursed through Phantom's body, forcing him to transform back into Danny Fenton. It was painless. Actually, it was rather relaxing. Danny felt his body go limp, and he collapsed inside the Box Ghost's make-shift prison.

* * *

"Goddamn kids," X spat as he pressed a strip of cloth to the side of his head. Phantom's punch had broken the skin, and a steady trickle of blood had been racing for the government agent's neck.

"With all due respect, sir, if you had provoked me like that . . . I would've socked you too."

Agent X glared at the Box Ghost. "Get him to a containment cell; a _proper_ one."

"Why not just dump him outside?"

"I think he might be under Showenhower's influence."

"What makes you say that?"

A good Agent was always prepared and Agent X was no exception. He pulled out another pair of sunglasses from his desk and slid them on. "The man has a device that can control the very fabric of reality. For all I know, we're all being controlled by that . . . _freak show_."

"Even taking that into consideration, why only Phantom? He only hit you because you crossed the line."

"I have my suspicions, Box Ghost; please . . . just get him out of my sight."

The blue, overall-clad specter nodded and vanished, taking the unconscious Danny Fenton with him. Agent X sighed and hit a button on his watch. A projector lit up the far wall of the room and began to play back footage captured by one of the Guys in White's UAV reconnaissance drone. It had been following the three scout ships and tracking their movements shortly after they arrived in the human realm.

If someone was to ask Agent X if he was prejudiced against ghosts –or ectosapiens, as they liked to call themselves – he would answer yes. Ghost monsters had killed his family in one of the earliest recorded, directly physical confrontations with the creatures. At first, the man had only sought to learn more about them so as to better protect the rest of the human race. But encounter after encounter with the beasties didn't paint them in an objective way. Agent X saw malicious beings from another dimension willfully attempting toand often succeeding in the killing of innocent human beings. And while some ghosts had proven useful, there was just no escaping the stereotype.

Then along came Phantom; a potential champion for the human race, using the godless monsters' own powers against them. While Agent X wouldn't admit it, he was immensely proud of the boy. While other children might have used their powers for their own personal gain, Phantom put his life on the line constantly to save the people he loved. It was admirable, praiseworthy, but Agent X couldn't allow the boy to have the full emotional support of an entire branch of the government.

God forbid Phantom ever discovered that the Guys in White was established for the sole purpose of making sure he stayed on the side of homo sapiens.

Agent X needed to keep Phantom out of the picture for now to be absolutely sure the boy was, indeed, still on the side of humanity. As the footage played back, X feared that his mission had failed. He saw Phantom battling monsters on the first ship, and then he paused as he set one of the bombs and flew for the next ship and repeated the process. The bombs exploded just as Phantom returned to shore and, just as the ghost boy had said, Prime was nowhere to be seen. And, despite what Phantom attested to, Optimus Prime couldn't have been destroyed in the explosion.

He didn't appear in the footage at all.

* * *

Walker had never been so furious. He had seen his father brutally torture and slay his enemies – the feeble humans who could barely survive in the desolate wasteland Earth had been reduced to. But while those humans were weak and needed defending, he was not emotionally drawn to them. They were not family. He had been quite furious when his mother found herself on the receiving end of Lord Phantom's wrath. Indeed, that was the event that began his time-spanning quest to destroy his father. In hindsight, his mother had often provoked and criticized his father near the end. She hadn't been entirely undeserving of her punishment. And seeing the current Danny Phantom's ignorance had certainly enraged Walker. But ignorance could be overlooked, and Danny Phantom would die long before his atrocities could ever be committed.

Upon seeing the purity of the Oracle in jeopardy, Walker realized that there was no suitable outlet for his rage. The Oracle was revered in the future as the keeper of knowledge from the past, before the Reign of the Dead began. She often told stories of Lord Phantom as a boy and how he overcame impossible odds to make the world safe for those he could save. The Oracle loved Walker like her own son, and Walker often goneto her for comfort before he left the future. The Oracle also loved Lord Phantom, knowing the sacrifices and the impossible decisions he had been forced to make.

The Oracle was Jazz Fenton, Lord Phantom's sister and Walker's Aunt.

Walker bristled with silent fury, seeing her sit at a sleazy diner booth, directly across from the most vile, despicable excuse for a human being ever spawned: Frederick Issac Showenhower. They talked about Phantom openly, although the other diner patrons were oblivious to their presence just as Jazz was oblivious to the fact that she was betraying her brother's secret – his trust – to a villain. The Reality Gauntlet, even without being utilized to its full potential, was a sickeningly powerful device.

"He cares so much about everyone," Walker heard Jazz say, "it's no wonder why he keeps it bottled up inside. If one of us got hurt because we knew, he'd never forgive himself."

"So then," Showenhower's decidedly effeminate voice hissed, "would you say that his greatest fear . . . would be losing everyone he loves the most?"

"Well I think, deep down, that's everyone's greatest fear, Fred. Wouldn't you agree?"

Walker gritted his teeth. Such familiar empathy would only be used against her!

"I suppose so, although I can't help but dislike your brother. He does have the power to save you all. Should the need arrive, of course."

"Sounds like you have a case of Ghost Envy, hmm?"

"Oh dear child, I envy any ghost that gets to live with you."

That disgusting, perverted snake of a man! Walker stood from his seat – a new addition to the massive command chair, more suited to Walker's smaller size – and clenched his fists. He couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, and didn't need to. Showenhower had gotten what he needed; Daniel's greatest fear. It was information that . . . _freak show_ was bound to use, but how? Walker floated down to the floor and began pacing back and forth. More importantly, why?

Several minutes of contemplation passed before the answer made itself clear. Showenhower wasn't trying to harm Daniel – that was just a convenient bonus. His real objective was to rob Walker of access to his father! Perhaps Plasmius as well; she also wanted the boy for her own twisted purposes. Walker could only guess Showenhower would get some sick sense of satisfaction of screwing over two of his employers and, with the Reality Gauntlet, could easily do away with both of them once the job was done. He was simply adding insult to injury, the cheeky bastard.

Walker looked back to the screen to observe the Oracle and her detestable date, only to find to his horror that they were no longer at the diner. They were at the Fenton residence, and Jazz was leading the man up the stairs by the hand.

"No," Walker whispered. They stopped at Jazz's doorway. Showenhower pressed his lips to hers. Slowly, they made their way into her room, and the door shut behind them. "NO!"

As if responding to his uncontrollable anger, the monitors shut down. Walker could only think of one thing to do; go to the human realm himself and stab the freak in the eyes with his own teeth.

But he . . . _couldn't_. So much depended on the success of his mission and disrupting anything could undo everything. He knew the Oracle might die during the invasion. He hoped it would be with some amount of dignity, but now . . .

"Wulf. Go to the human realm. Find Phantom, wherever he is, and make sure he finds out this happened. I don't care how you do it. My father will undoubtedly avenge the Oracle's honor and, in doing so, perform the only noble act of his wretched existence. If you happen to run into that freak show . . . do what you can, but don't place yourself in harm's way."

The massive canine, who had been watching uncomfortably from some distance away, nodded. A portal to the human realm was opened, and Wulf slipped through before it was closed.

Now alone, Walker pulled a small rectangle of paper from his pocket. It was a picture of his father, his mother, and the Oracle. Lord Phantom held a newborn Walker in his arms, and the two women were fawning over him. Walker rubbed his thumb over the image of Jazz. A drop of water fell on the old photograph. It was a tear. Walker sniffled and choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, Ora- . . . Aunt Jasmine," he whispered. Glowing tears streamed down his face. "I never wanted this to happen, but I swear to you, this won't go unpunished."

_**I**_** h**_**A**_**v**_**E**_** n**_**O **_**d**_**O**_**u**_**B**_**t **_**Y**_**o**_**U**_** w**_**I**_**l**_**L sUcCeEd**_**. **_**T**_**h**_**E**_** o**_**R**_**a**_**C**_**l**_**E**_** w**_**O**_**u**_**L**_**d **_**B**_**e . . . **_**P**_**r**_**O**_**u**_**D**_**.**

To Be Continued

_A/N: I think I'm finally getting this thing back on track, thank God. Also, thank Cordria. While I think I'm regaining my grasp on how to write continuity that flows, I'm still a long way from being able to go it alone. By the way, I know we haven't seen the weird bold/italics, caps/uncaps stuff in a while. In case you forgot, that is the combined form of Tempest and Folium stuck in Walker's head.  
_

_Moving on, I have finished my outlines of the first half of the second season, including the Ultimate Enemy. I like the UE story because its ridiculously dark. Almost unnecessarily so. But there were some things I wanted to do with it that I wasn't able to work in during the outline. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Hopefully I wont have to up the rating to M, but we'll see what happens. I think I've gotten away with a lot so far and I've never gotten __reprimanded for content. I mean, if I start writing smut fics and rate them K+, I might be in some trouble..._

_Almost to 200,000 hits! You're all crazy to have stuck with this for so long, and we're just now winding down the first third of the entire thing. Come September, this story will be 4 years old. I'll thank all of you for your patronage somehow. Multiple chapters per day for a week? No, I doubt I could do that. And even if I could, I doubt Cordria would be up for that much beta-ing, and__ **that's** assuming she's still putting up with my typos and continuity errors by that point. :)_

_One more thing. I decided to stop thanking you all individually for reviewing the previous chapter for the moment. Before I get into Reality Wars, I'm going through this whole thing and editing all the chapters myself. Grammar and spelling, possible continuity, whatever needs fixing. I won't be changing the story, just going back through and doing a fixer-upper to make it more readable. And then, once I start on Reality Wars, I'll pick back up on it. I know It's not a big deal, just letting you guys know what's going on._

**I'M FEELING . . . _INTERNATIONAL_ TODAY!**


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